Assistant of a Murderous Prince
by TheLadyIntegra
Summary: Vegeta, furious at the theft of his Dragonball, attacks Krillin, Gohan and Bulma, determined to extract revenge. However, Gohan resorts to desperate measures to save his friend, resulting in Bulma's kidnapping and a story you would never tell your kids...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Vegeta landed next to the bank that surely contained his Dragonball, grinning. It was only his second ball, and Frieza already had an untold amount, but it didn't matter. He would be immortal soon anyhow, now that one of the balls were completely hidden. He would just place this ball next to the other one and then go looking for the rest…

Searching the rippling water for some sort of tell-tale glow or sparkle that might tell him where his other ball had landed, his smirk grew when he could detect nothing. The other ball was well and truly hidden, he would actually have to dive in to find it!

Hopping in with the other ball under his arm, he scanned the bottom of the lake, eyes narrowing when he didn't immediately see it. Well, that was probably a good thing…It just meant that he had hidden it a lot better then he had originally thought. He deposited his newly acquired ball onto the bottom of the lake, trying to find where the other had gone.

However, after ten minutes of searching, the enraged Prince finally came to the conclusion that his ball was gone, stolen in fact, by that little half-breed runt!

He would show them, he would show all of them! He would slowly dismember the brat, the cue-ball and their irritating weakling pet! They would pay for their insolence, daring to think they could thwart the Saiyan Prince!

Emerging from the water in a tsunami like wave, he screamed his fury.

"You wont escape my wrath, Earthlings!"

* * *

"You guys aren't seriously gonna leave me here, again!" Bulma yelped out angrily, placing her hands on her hips as she glared down at her two small friends. "You said yourself that Vegeta met you on the way here! What if that was his ball you took?"

Gohan rubbed the toe of his boot into the dirt and held his hands behind his back, avoiding the blue-haired girls gaze. "You'll be fine Bulma, Vegeta wont find you here anyways."

"Yeah," Krillin added with a grin, "And when we get back, we'll be able to kick his butt anyways! With Gohan's released power, we won't have to worry about him!"

Both boys stared hopefully at her as she glared at them, crossing her arms over her bosom. "Nuh-uh. No way misters. I am not staying out here!"

"But Bulma! We need you to stay here and guard the Dragonball so we can unleash-"

"Gohan's hidden power," She finished for the bald man. "Yeah, yeah. You told me. I don't give a damn. Vegeta already threatened to kill me once today and I'm _not_ risking that happening while you're not here. Take me with you or stay."

The boys sighed and shrugged, Krillin picking up the ball and handing it to Bulma. "Okay, we'll take you with us. Just don't squirm like you did on the way here."

Bulma huffed as Krillin wrapped his arms around her waist, pouting and holding the ball to her chest. "It's not my fault you're so tiny. Do you know how weird it is being carried by someone shorter then you?"

"Well, gee." Krillin frowned. "It's not like it's my fault I'm short." He tightened his grip around Bulma as they took off into the sky, air rushing past them and making the blue strands of hair whip around in the wind, occasionally slapping him in the arm.

"Yeah right. You probably just didn't drink enough milk or something…" She muttered in response as he grumbled.

"My mom says you need lots of sleep to grow, and the gravity stretches you while you're lying down!" The little Saiyan added happily as he flew nest to them, arms outstretched like superman. Bulma grinned at the kid.

After almost ten minutes of flight, she spoke again. "So how far to Guru's Krillin?" She yelled against the wind.

Krillin kept his gaze ahead of them. "It's pretty far, about two hou-"

Suddenly both boys stopped, causing Bulma's legs to fly forward and her head to fling back, painfully clicking her neck.

"Ow! What the heck was that all…" She trailed off as she caught sight of Krillin's face. He was staring wide eyes at the sky behind them, sweat running of his brow.

"K-krillin?" She prodded nervously, glancing at Gohan to see him with the same terrified expression.

"You feel that?" the kid asked, his lips quivering slightly.

"Feel what?" Bulma asked in a raspy whisper, feeling the sudden urge to keep her voice down.

"Vegeta." Was all Krillin had time to say before a carefully aimed blast of ki hit him in the shoulder, badly burning Bulma's cheek. He yelled out in pain and loosened his hold on the girl, blood running down his arm as he stared in horror while she plummeted to the ground below.

"Bulma!" He called out, diving for her as she fell, clutching the Dragonball to her stomach, curling around it as she placed her forehead against its cool surface, screaming as the ground rapidly approached her back.

"I don't think so!" Someone yelled behind Krillin, an elbow dropping into his spine before the attacker disappeared, reappearing beneath Bulma as he caught her right before she hit the hard surface of Namek, grabbing around her shoulders and knees. Krillin felt something crack at the impact of the blow, just barely managing to hold his eyes open long enough to see Bulma in that evil mans arms.

Then everything went black, and he soared through the air, crashing into the ground some way away.

"Krillin!" Bulma heard Gohan scream as she heard the crash, and she flinched, keeping her eyes squeezed shut, feeling her savior's arms tighten around her painfully. She whimpered, clutching against his chest with one hand, holding the large ball with the other.

"Get you filthy hands off of me, trash." A proud voice came from above the girl. Slowly, she raised blue eyes to the man holding her, widening them as she saw who it was. Cold, dead eyes and a furrowed brow, staring down through narrowed lids and clenched, slightly pointed teeth. Features marred by hate, twisted into the absolute epitome of the word monster.

She screamed.

His lip curled up in disgust as he flung her away, watching in satisfaction when her back crashed against a rock and she cried out in pain, before she slid down and landed, the Dragonball rolling away from her outstretched arm. Vegeta bent down, picking up the ball with a smirk. "Gotcha."

With the globe tucked safely under his arm, he raised narrowed eyes to the still form of the human weakling. He couldn't see her face, hidden as it was beneath her ridiculous blue hair, but he could easily guess that she was unconscious. With a smirk, he happily charged up a ball of Ki, aiming it at the girls back.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

A fist flew past his head as he dodged back, watching in mild surprise as the half Saiyan child's momentum caused him to crash into the ground, landing on all fours before spinning around and attacking the Prince again.

Vegeta chuckled evilly as he dodged the boy's attacks. With an easy flick of his wrist, the Ki that had been charged for the girl flew into his chest, sending him tumbling back. Gohan stopped himself in mid-air, flinging himself back up to glare at the Prince.

"What do you want, Vegeta?" The half-breed asked angrily, glaring with a hatred that did not belong on a child's face. The Prince grinned.

"Well," He began, eyes swiveling downwards and lovingly stroking the Dragonball, "Firstly, I wanted this back. Secondly," His eyes flew up again, and in them was a fury that cut Gohan's breath short. "I want to make you all pay for daring to humiliate the Prince of all Saiyans!"

He flew forward, fist crashing into Gohan's stomach, sending him into the ground and creating a small crater around the kid. Still with the Draginball tucked under his arm, Vegeta mounted the boy, rage flaring in his black eyes as he began to pummel him, punch after punch, stomach, face, stomach, face, left cheek, right cheek, left cheek, right cheek...

The child cried out each time he was hit, blood bubbling over his lips. The Saiyan Prince fisted his gloved fingers into Gohan's hair and raised him to eye level as he stood. The boy seemed dazed, and a small hiccup brought up more blood. Vegeta looked away from the pitiable sight for a moment, something tugging at his stomach upon seeing a child of his own race in such a state.

His tail twitched, swaying behind him. He would have his revenge, but this boy was part Saiyan. It would be a pity to kill him, especially when he could come in handy when baiting Kakarot into another fight.

No, he would blow off some steam another way. His eyes locked on to the unconscious human female as he dropped the boy. Gohan landed on his knees, coughing and spluttering, staring up in surprise at Vegeta, who for some reason was walking away, still carrying the Dragonball with him…

Right towards Bulma!

The Saiyan Prince growled as he stood next to the girl, bending down and fisting his fingers into Bulma's hair this time, lifting her into the air like he had done with the boy. Vegeta imitated his movements with Gohan, holding her at eye level so that her booted toes just barely touched the ground, rather swaying in the air. He bent her head back, eyes raking over the graceful arch of her neck before flinging her up slightly, catching her throat in his hand as she came back down.

Nothing but a human weakling, a pleasure kill that he could enjoy without the guilt of destroying Saiyan blood. He happily applied pressure, reveling in the feel of a throat being crushed beneath his fingers.

"STOP IT!" He heard the boy scream behind him, once again attacking to save his friend. Vegeta lazily swatted him away with his tail, focusing solely on squeezing the life out of another one of Kakarot's friends.

"Don't push me boy, I _really_ need to kill someone right now…Do not convince me it should be you!"

Gohan shakily got to his feet, desperately trying to find a way to save Bulma. "She can help you find the Dragonballs!" He cried out in desperation. "S-she knows how to track them! If you kill her, you'll never get your wish!"

Vegeta froze, turning his head to gaze at the boy, who had one swollen eye closed and was breathing heavily, a look of desperation on his face. He smirked, dropping the girl. She landed in a heap at his feet.

He spun around approaching the boy, tail swaying behind him. Stopping right in front of the kid, he stared him down. "You do realize I'll just kill her when I find them all, don't you boy? And by then I'll be so powerful none of you will be able to stop me!"

Gohan was breathing heavily, clutching at his arm but glaring up at the evil man above him. "I-I'll find a way to get st-stronger then you before that happens…And then…then…"

Vegeta let out a throaty laugh. "And then what? You'll kill me?"

When Gohan remained silent, he laughed again, but softly this time. "Well, I'm looking forward to it kid. But I highly doubt you'll manage to find me before I kill your friend. Good luck with it though!"

And with that the Saiyan Prince turned around, grabbing Bulma and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and took off.

"I-I'll find a way t-to save you, Bulma…"

He turned his head in the direction that Krillin had fallen, and began limping his way there.

* * *

**Hey there! So, this is just a prologue, and I think the next few chapters will probably be longer then this.**

**There are some things you should know about this story though...**

**1 - Vegeta only has one ball. Well, two if you count the one he just stole back from Gohan xD**

**1.1 - Vegeta actually has four balls. Two very important ones used to message the stalk when mommy and daddy love each other very much, and two other ones that..pshhh, grant wishes. Well, they both do that I suppose... ;D**

**2 - He hasn't killed Dodoria (I will check the spelling of that name later so I don't irritate you!) or Zarbon, but he has killed Cui.**

**3 - Gohan and Vegeta both have their tails (sorry, but I find them so awesome! I seriously wish that they had never lost their tails...) Vegeta's grew back after Zarbon beat him up and Gohan's grew back...say, on the ship :)**

**4 - He hasn't been on Frieza's ship, he managed to crawl away after Zarbon beat him up and chillax in a cave somewhere till his wounds healed. **

**5 - I am seriously not into the mushy-mushy with this pairing, so if they do get together *ominous foreshadowing with the 'if'* then it's gonna be a long, slooowwww ride filled with abuse. Also, I'm really tired of the cliche where he goes on a rant about her eyes...Yes, they are blue. But it seems annoyingly unavoidable...Oh well.**

**6 - I am terrible at updating stories, going through the most violent stages of writers block EVER and I also do this terrible thing where I swap between stories. I'm being nawty just posting this!**

**7 - I absolutely love, love, love, LOVE reviews! They make me soooo happy! :D So pretty please make my day and review! Constructive criticism, deranged groveling for updates, rants about the awsomeness of this, anything really!**

**EXCEPT: 8 - flames. Flames are fun and used to roast marsh-mellows. If you don't like the way I twisted the facts of dbz, like how he has no db's and he hasn't killed Zarbom or Dodoria, please don't bring that up ^^, **

**This is a fanfic, and as a fan I'm playing with the facts. Consider this a 'what if' fanfic if you must :D**

**Sorry for the AN that ate the world, but I just thought I should cover those things. All in all, enjoy! And please review!**


	2. Struck From Behind

**Struck From Behind.**

Vegeta landed between two of the strange hills that seemed to cover the place, and shrugged the girl off of his shoulder. She landed with a thud on her side, her back turned to him. The Saiyan Prince gave the girl a kick in the spine, causing her to jerk awake and cry out in pain. He narrowed his eyes at the show; he hadn't even kicked her that hard.

But when her hand flew to her back he remembered that he had flung her into a jagged, rocky cliff and where her back had struck her clothing was in slight tatters, blood stains covering the mustard yellow fabric.

He frowned at her frailty, humans were so weak...

He watched as the girl lifted herself up, still not facing him and got on her knees, placing a hand on her bruised throat. Vegeta almost scoffed at how damaged it seemed she already was, wondering if she would even be of any use at all in that state.

"Ow…" he heard her groan.

"Girl." He finally spoke, smirking as she jumped and spun her head around, blue eyes popping slightly as she caught sight of him and once again opened her mouth to produce yet another irritating scream.

Vegeta lunged forward, covering her mouth with his hand and squeezing her cheek.

"Scream, and I swear, I will rip you limb from limb, understand?"

Tears sprung into her eyes, but she made no response. He squeezed his fingers harder along her cheeks, eyes blazing as he twisted her head back awkwardly to face him, causing her body to follow until she no longer had her back to him. He pulled upwards, yanking her to her feet. "Understand?"

Closing her eyes against the pain of his fingers, she slowly nodded her head, a single tear sliding down her cheek. He hastily removed his hand as it collided with his glove.

_'Disgusting…'_

"Good." He took a step back as she collapsed to her knees, her head falling down and her hair shadowing her eyes.

He took stock of her, examining her completely. She was covered in random scrapes and cuts from her collision with the rock, and her back was probably one mass of bruises and gashes. She had a burn mark along her cheek from when he had blasted the cue-ball, and a throat that was slowly turning purple. He also knew her face would bruise, the strange shape of a hand etching itself into her pathetic, smooth, ivory skin.

All in all, she had got off easy.

"Get to your feet, human." He spat out, glaring into the crown of her hair. She nodded, and shakily got to her feet. He may have been short for his race, but he was still taller then her and she had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes.

They were the brightest, most annoying shade of luminous blue he had ever seen. So bright that when the sun struck them and reflected off of her un-spilt tears, they literally glowed. He curled his lips at those, weak, pathetic eyes, reflecting nothing but fear and pain.

"Now listen, because if you don't you'll most likely end up doing something stupid." Vegeta said. "Your clever little half-breed brat told me that you know how to track the Dragonballs. You're going to help me find them, and maybe when you're done I'll make your death quick."

Bulma flinched as he said it all with a grin, dropping her eyes to the ground, not wanting to continue staring at his warped, twisted features any longer then she had to. She was supposed to help this man, possibly the most evil man in the universe, find the Dragonballs…all in exchange for a swift end. A death knowing that her last known act was to help give an evil person his greatest wish…

"No." She whispered, almost hoping as soon as she said it that he may not have heard.

Luck was not on her side.

In a second she was on the floor, him straddling her as his hand crushed her already bruising throat into the ground. His eyes lit with fire, his teeth bared as his tail thrashed behind him.

"Don't push me, girl." He murmured, locking their eyes together and effectively paralyzing her, despite the fact that she wouldn't have been able to move anyway. "I am this close to snapping your neck. Saying no only makes you expendable."

She blinked twice before her face twisted, the fearful expression that had previously been there turning into a hate-filled glare. He smirked at her defiance, surprised that she had any flame left in her. He applied slightly more pressure to her throat, making her wince, before getting up and off her.

"Now, tell me where the next ball is."

Bulma got to her feet, dusting herself off as here hand found her throat, prodding it gently and hissing at the shock of pain it sent through her. She faced the prince with a glare.

"I don't know." She whispered, but held up her hands and took a step back when he advanced towards her threateningly. "No, really! I don't! The device I use to find the balls is back at camp." He halted, staring thoughtfully at her before nodding.

"Very well, then we shall simply retrieve this device."

"B-but…I don't know where my camp is."

His eyes narrowed, tail flicking behind him in warning. "I swear girl, if you're lying to me…"

"I'm not lying!" She squeaked, "I really don't know! Krillin had to fly me there, and I had my eyes closed most of the time 'cause the wind hurts and-"

She was silenced as Vegeta's tail struck the opposite cliff face, causing a large hole in the side of it and a few rocks to fall around him.

"Cease your babbling before I cease it for you."

There was silence for a moment as Vegeta studied her, trying to come to a decision. He should kill her, seeing as she was proving completely useless anyway…But the pull of this locating device was to strong. It would make the whole process so much speedier.

But, there was a way he could do both. From what he could tell, the device was all he needed to track the balls, the girl was completely expendable. He just needed to find the camp, have the girl point out the device and then kill her and be on his merry way.

His smirk returned.

_'We'll find this camp, and the device. Then the Dragonballs will be mine…'_

* * *

Krillin covered his head, trying to sort some sanity into the day as he lay on his back, watching the clouds roll over the green sky. Bulma was gone, taken by none other then Vegeta, and he was stuck completely useless in his injured state. Gohan was healing slightly faster then him, but he had a feeling it would not be fast enough…

They needed to get Vegeta away from Bulma before he hurt, or just plain killed her. He had already challenged Gohan to try and stop him from ending her life, as though it were some sort of sick game or race. They needed to delay his finding of the Dragonballs, in any way they could. And to do that, they had done something Bulma would surely have killed them for had the circumstances been any different.

They had broken the Dragon radar.

Hurrying to their camp, they had hastily taken the thing and sliced it in half, using a slightly less potent version of Krillin's destructo-disk and then scarpered to half way across the planet. Now it lay in two neat halves, right where Bulma had left it.

Vegeta, and Bulma for that matter, would be furious upon finding it. But they were confident that Bulma could fix it, no matter the damage, and that Vegeta would let her live to do so. At least their plan would delay the finding of the Dragonballs, and if Bulma was anywhere near as smart as she claimed to be, she would know to delay the fixing of the device for as long as possible.

"Hey Krillin…" Gohan asked from next to him, sitting against a large boulder.

"Yeah?"

"Do…Do you really think we can save Bulma from Vegeta? What if he already…" The child trailed off, unspoken fears hanging suggestively in the air, thickening it until both boy's found it difficult to breath.

"Don't think like that Gohan. Bulma's tough, she'll make it through this. She'll probably even give that jerk a royal headache!"

Gohan sighed, rubbing his nose. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of Krillin." The half-Saiyan twirled his tail in the air, allowing it to distractedly curl around a rock and throw it upwards, catching it and repeating the process. "Bulma's such a loudmouth, I really don't think a short-tempered person like Vegeta will put up with her for very long."

Krillin turned to stare at Gohan, watching as the kid seemed lost in thought. With a feeling of dread beginning to pool in his stomach, he realized that the half-Saiyan had a point. A terrible, and true point.

* * *

Bulma clung to the Saiyan for dear life as they flew through the air. She was once again flung over his shoulder, and he had his one hand holding onto her ankle steadying her. Still, she felt the need to grip at the shoulder pad of his armor as she attempted to study the ground instead of screaming.

With nothing but the instruction to keep an eye out for her camp, he had tossed her over his shoulder and taken off, giving her ankle a painful squeeze when she screamed out in fright.

Now she was expected to alert him as soon as she caught sight of anything, but she simply couldn't keep her eyes open on the massive drop below her, and found that keeping them squeezed shut was surprisingly easy. She knew the instincts of a warrior in the enemies arms would be to stay constantly alert, searching for a way to escape or defeat the opposing force. But she was just so tired, and she hurt everywhere…

Slowly, with nothing but silence and the cold feeling of the wind on her skin, and a warm, powerful and very much deadly hand wrapped around her ankle, she drifted off into oblivion.

* * *

He was surprised at her silence. From what he had been able to tell, she was a loud-mouthed babbler that refused to shut up, yet now she remained completely quiet. He briefly wondered if her fear had tied her tongue, and even began to feel a brief sense of satisfaction.

Until he noticed the strange limpness of her body. The whole time she hand held on tightly to his shoulder, muscles tensed as she shivered. Now she hung off of him like a wrung-out cloth, and he could feel her hands hanging near the regions of his tail, occasionally bumping into his lower back.

With an audible growl, he used the hand not holding her ankle to reach over the opposite shoulder, grabbing onto the material of the back of her shirt, and yanking her off his shoulder until he held her like a kitten by the scruff of it's neck in mid air before him. Her chin touched her chest and her hair fluttered around her in the wind of high-altitude.

As suspected, she slept, and he very nearly loosened his grip to allow her to fall to her death beneath him. He had been flying for over twenty minutes, which meant he needed to go back and cover almost 50 miles!

Glaring at his captive, he brought her closer to him, until the where face to face, his fist clenched beside him.

"GIRL!" He yelled then, causing her to jerk awake, her head flying up and just barely avoiding clipping him on the nose. The first thing that met her bleary eyes was the sight of an enraged Vegeta, centimeters away from her.

The first thing she noticed was that her feet didn't have anything solid to stand on, and neither did his for that matter.

The last thing she noticed before letting out a blood curdling scream, was the sight of Vegeta's shocked face as a Ki ball struck him in the back, and the sudden sensation of falling.

* * *

**Hello again! Thank you to my single reviewer Queenyasha! You made my morning and got me to work writing this straight away!**

**I encourage all of ya'll to review and tell me what ya think, if I'm getting personalities right, who is the mystery attacker, yada yada!**

**Hope ya'll enjoyed! **


	3. Saved By My Death

**Saved By My Death**

Bulma screamed as she felt the Prince pitch forward, expecting him to drop her at any second and send her falling to her death. She felt his grip loosen for a moment, and the terrible feeling of falling as her stomach found it's way to her throat, her hair flying upwards to soar above her head before a hand encircled her wrist and halted her decent with a jolt to her arm's socket.

She stared in terror down at the long drop below her, a large lake surrounded by hard rocky mountains and the occasional smatterings of grass that would do nothing to cushion her fall should Vegeta decide to let her go. She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut as her legs swayed under her, her arm feeling as though it was about to tear off at any second.

She almost screamed again as she was swung forwards, but Vegeta held her wrist in a vice-like grip, lifting her back up to him and immediately grabbing her around the stomach and holding her under his arm like a surfboard. She still had a terrible view of the drop as she hung like a dead weight by his side. She tried bending her neck to look up, regretting it instantly when she saw what had attacked them.

One of the most disgusting creatures Bulma had ever seen halted its flight about two meters in from of them, a putrid smile on its purple lips. The alien was large and rotund with pink, horn covered skin and pointy ears. It wore exactly the same sort of armor as Vegeta, making her wonder exactly how the two were related.

"Gross!" She found herself exclaiming, the disgusted reaction escaping her before she could contain herself. The monsters eyes immediately snapped to her, an angry frown replacing its smile. A sneer carved its way into the aliens face as it's eyes locked onto the arm carrying her, one pink brow raised.

Bulma felt frozen under that disgusting things gaze, shrinking back instinctively, turning her head away to look at her captor. She was certain he would be glaring, but as she turned to his face she felt his rumbling laughter vibrate through her, surprised to see him looking directly at her, amusement plain in his eyes. She hung her head, confused at his reaction, scared for her life and tired of the uncomfortable feeling of keeping it up. Her blue hair fell forward, flipping over her head and hanging around her upside-down face. The Prince immediately shifted his gaze back to the creature.

"Who's the whore, Vegeta?" The alien growled, eyes boring into Bulma's exposed neck, making her squirm uncomfortably. "She's a tasty treat, that's for sure!"

Vegeta shifted his body, turning so that Bulma was almost behind him and tightening his hold on her painfully, making her gasp at the pressure on her stomach. "She's none of your concern, Dodoria." He said calmly, though his tail thrashed behind him. "If I were you, I'd really be worrying about what I'm going to do to you for daring to attack me!"

For a moment, Bulma almost felt shielded under his muscled arm, as though Vegeta could protect her. She made a face at that notion, disgusted with herself. Vegeta was just as bad as that ugly monster!

Well, not quite. Firstly, he wasn't nearly as hard on the eyes, and at least he hadn't suggested that he would eat her.

Oh, no…Instead, he had quite plainly told her that he would kill her when he was done with her!

Bulma felt nauseous in the arms of a cold-blooded murderer, a happy participator in genocide and the catalyst of her promised death. Torn, not knowing who to cheer for in what was certain to be a battle to the end, the winner deciding her fate. Either one would probably end up killing her, so who was the lesser of two evils? Did her preferences even matter? Did Vegeta stand a chance against this thing?

What would she face if he didn't? A slow, messy end being disemboweled and eaten alive by a fat, pink alien. Death by Vegeta seemed positively tame compared to all the unknowns. One glance up at Vegeta's somewhat deceivingly calm face, compared to the amused chuckle coming from Dodoria, and she had to say that certain death with a Saiyan Prince was preferable to an unknown future with that…_thing!_

The alien was shifting into an offensive stance, raising his hands and grinning at the Prince. She felt Vegeta tighten his hold once again, his muscles tensing next to her, heat radiating off of him in rivulets of power that even she could feel, almost vibrating against her…

"Please Vegeta, as if you could lay a hand on me!"

Muscles tensing, ready, like a cat about to pounce on its prey, a compressed spring ready to be released to fly forward, meeting with the alien with an unforeseen force that would send both the alien and her spiraling into oblivion…

"Zarbon told all of us how he beat you to a crying pulp-"

Bulma had barely been able to register that they were moving before she was in front of the alien, the rush forward coupled with the sudden stop gave her an intense feeling of whiplash, legs swinging back and then forward, neck swinging back and then suddenly up, raised for long enough to be terrified of the sight above her.

Dodoria looked down in shock at the knee in his stomach, not having seen it coming. His mouth opened and closed in shock, spittle escaping as he wheezed, eyes bulging. Slowly, deliberately, Vegeta withdrew his knee, watching in satisfaction as the alien doubled over in pain. Allowing Dodoria a few seconds to comprehend his position, Vegeta then elbowed him in the head, sending him whistling through the air, landing with an almighty splash in the green water below.

Bulma let out a yelp as Vegeta suddenly descended, floating quickly downwards until he had landed near the bank. The Prince immediately dropped her, letting her fall to onto her stomach, chin colliding painfully with the ground. He looked down at her with an expression of disdain as she hastily got to her rear and pushed herself away from him, legs propelling her backwards. Once at a safe distance she paused, giving him a tentative look and getting to her feet, peering over at the green water in fright.

"Who the hell was that guy?"

Vegeta's tail wrapped itself around his waist as he regarded the human girl with a frown. She was still staring in horror at the water, seemingly distracted from the danger _he_ posed to her. With a roll of his eyes at her apparently short attention span, he turned his back to the water and approached her, smirking as she jumped to attention and took a reflexive step back.

"That, girl, was one of Frieza's dogs." He stopped a few feet away, grinning down at her as he continued. "You'd do well to be afraid."

She frowned, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one hip in a rare display of defiance. "I _am_ afraid, but thanks _so much_ for the tip."

In a second he was right in front of her, their height difference obvious at such close proximity. Eyes widening she stumbled backwards, raising a hand to her face in surprise.

A mistake.

Grabbing her wrist, he twisted it to the side.

Also a mistake.

Bulma gasped in shock as Vegeta was smashed to the side to crash into one of the surrounding mountains, the pink monster replacing him in front of her. He glared to the side at the cloud of dust Vegeta had disappeared into.

"Never turn your back on me, you dumb-ass monkey!" He yelled over.

There was no response from the rubble.

Dodoria grinned. "Guess that takes care of him."

Bulma stared in horror at the destroyed mountain, silently willing Vegeta to get up. He had to get up, he had to! He couldn't just die from something like that! There was no trace of him anywhere! Where was he! She was stuck, paralyzed and she instinctively felt the other aliens gaze shift to her.

A strangled scream escaped her before the alien had its meaty hands around her already bruised throat. He lifted her into the air, heedless of her kicking and the hands clawing at him.

"Your monkey-fuck aint gonna save ya from me now!" His beady eyes narrowed hatefully. "Gross, huh girl? I'll show you 'gross'…We'll see just how pretty you are after you've become Durian shit!"

Bulma frantically shook her head as he opened his mouth, the jaw stretching impossibly wide and revealing two rows of sharp teeth and moving her head towards them.

Somehow, she didn't know how, but _somehow_ she managed to choke out his name.

"V-VEGETA!"

Time seemed to slow as he approached Dodoria, Bulma somehow managing to track his movements perfectly. The blue aura surrounding him licked at her form, tracing its way up her toes in a tingle that stretched all the way to her scalp. The burn on her cheek began to sting painfully as it came into contact with the energy that had created it. Her hair raised itself slowly, bubbling around her for a long, drawn-out moment as the Prince's fist stretched towards Dodoria's side, his face a mask of concentration and satisfaction, eyes flickering to meet hers for a split second. His dark orbs seem to shine with surprise, sensing that she could see him before his fist collided with the pink alien, real time returning with a burst of wind and an almighty explosion as he mixed Ki in with the blow.

She screamed again as Dodoria held onto her still, even as he was thrown sideways and a hole was pierced through his side where Vegeta's fist had connected. She was about to die, caught in an explosion right before being eaten...

She flew along with Dodoria, caught in his clutches as he painfully dragged her to their imminent doom. Her hands stretched back towards the hazy outline of Vegeta, dust and debris clouding her vision of him. She managed to find enough air for one last scream, the shrill sound penetrating the air around her and somehow resonating over the thundering sound destruction. She felt the sting of flying rocks and cutting winds. Her clothing began to shred, cuts began to draw their way over her skin.

A gloved hand burst through the cloud of dust, grabbing onto her wrist and bringing with it the head of Vegeta as he pushed himself through, a look of determination on his face. Raising his free hand he formed a disk, flinging it down and letting it cut through the arm of Dodoria with a razor-sharp flash of energy. The grip on her throat loosened and she felt herself being gathered up into strong arms and flashed away in a burst of dizzying speed. Vegeta landed with one knee down and the other up, before the final boom of the explosion sounded some way behind her, coupled with a painfully bright flash of white. She shielded her face with the chest of her captor as strong winds blew from behind him, whipping her hair and clothing around violently.

As the dust settled she felt tears stinging her cheeks, the salt coming into contact with open wounds and carving a path through dirt-covered skin. Her body wracked with sobs, sobs that only accelerated when Vegeta dropped her in an undignified huddle on the grass, where she immediately crawled into the fetal position, refusing to see, or feel, or hear. She couldn't take it anymore! She wished he had left her in that explosion, instead of delaying the inevitable...

She barely even put up a fight as he came from behind her and yanked her up by the hair, forcing her to her knees, her back arching away from him. Her tears fell in a steady stream though, dripping past her chin and rolling down her neck even as her eyes rolled up to try and see Vegeta's face. But the water hid the look of disgust, the look of apathy and revulsion for her weakness.

She barely even felt it when he let her go, allowing her to drop forward before a quick chop to the back of her neck sent everything black.

* * *

"Bulma's hurt Krillin..." Gohan murmured, rolling onto his side and staring at his friend with sad eyes. "I can _feel_ it."

Krillin nodded despondently. "There was no way she wouldn't get hurt."

"We need to help her!"

"And how would we do that?" The bald monk hoisted himself onto one elbow, frowning down at the kid. "Really, if you have any bright ideas feel free to share! Why don't we just go there right now? I'm sure it'll be a _whole lotta_ help to Bulma if we got ourselves killed!"

Gohan glared at his friend, tail swishing angrily. "I was just saying! How can you be comfortable just lying there?"

"You think I'm comfortable?" When the boy simply looked down at the ground Krillin's eyes softened marginally. "Look, I know this is difficult, just lying here. But it's really what's best for Bulma in the long run. We won't be able to help her injured like we are."

Gohan nodded slowly, head turning back to the sky. "I just feel so useless!" His fist crashed down into the ground next to him, creating a small whole with cracks spidering off into the grass.

Krillin smiled sadly. "I know how you feel Gohan...But, right now, we pretty much _are_ useless."

* * *

**Chapter 3, at your service!**

**Omw, I sleep over at my friends place, come home after school and ZOMFG, 7 more reviews! :D yay! **

**I am SO glad you all like this! I mean, I know 7 reviews isn't THAT big a deal, but it made my my day! And they were all positive responses! To Zarahai, I am so sorry! I know I said I wasn't gonna do anything on her eyes (Well, ACTUALLY I said 'it seems unnavoidable') but, eh, what can I say...It's a cliche for a reason xD **

**Anywho, hope you enjoyed this action packed chappie! (even though my sentences have WAY to many comma's)**

**Oh, btw 'Durian' is the name of Dodoria's race. You know, coz he's named after the Durian fruit? Wikipedia ftw ay?**

**Please review! It makes me vomit chapters a lot faster ^^,**


	4. The Cave

**ladies and gents, BLEEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGHHHHHH! **

**There. That was me vomiting this chapter for my precious reviewers ^^, To queenyasha, thelonewolf987, Mystik Fire, Rubyne, Ayaka86, Ponyo, crazykk2, Zarahai, Coka Cookie Cola(epic name btw!), Gelly619, Ipanda(I encourage procrastination!), mariaben, lady-night-shade04, menga88 and Josie(you wanna marry my fic? Great, I'll be the minister!)! I LOVES ALL OF YA'LL! This chapter was spewed for you peeps! Enjoy!**

**The Cave.**

Vegeta dumped the woman at the foot of the cave. He had come across it in his flight, nestled comfortably a few meters up the wall of one of the strange rock formations that seemed to cover the planet. A gentle waterfall fell next to it, sprinkling the air as it crashed into the small river that ran under the entrance. The water was clear and on the other side was a tiny rocky bank. The ground was made entirely of this gray rock, sloping from the cave into the water, large and pointed rocks jutting out from the side of the walls. The rock formation formed a tight circle, with only a small gap allowing the river to flow through. The river blocked the cave from the rest of the world. The only way to get out would be to jump out the cave, into the water, and swim. Or fly.

It was tranquil and one of the few places on the pathetic rock of a planet that wasn't an eyesore. It was also closed off, with some sort of shelter. All in all, it would be a good place to return to and hide the balls once he had retrieved the locator.

Vegeta glanced down at Bulma, satisfied with his assessment of the small cove. He turned the girl over onto her stomach with his foot before kneeling down and tearing off the back of her yellow dress and the black shirt she wore beneath it, examining her bare back. He frowned as he realized just how much damage him throwing her against that cliff had caused.

Black, purple and yellow bruises covered her pale skin, along with several nasty puncture wounds that seemed to have become inflamed. He turned away from the sight, clenching his teeth at her infuriating frailty, scowling at her battered form when she groaned. _Why_ he had saved her he didn't know. He had planned on simply letting Dodoria bite her head off, but then…

_The girl tossed her head from side to side as if in defiance of her fate, kicking her legs through the air, attempting to pry Dodoria's hands off her. His eyes narrowed as the alien opened his mouth, stretching his jaw like a snake and slowly bringing the girl towards it. His muscles tensed, waiting for the exact moment to attack. Dodoria would be so busy crunching on her frail little bones to notice him._

_He smirked as her kicking and clawing intensified when she realized what was about to happen to her, and he could imagine the horror in her eyes from the distance. He could feel the terror rolling off of her in stagnant waves._

_Then…_

_"V-Vegeta!" The human screamed his name with all the passion and terror she could muster, howling it through the air past the restrictions tying her vocal chords. She shrieked it to the sky, throwing her head back and calling on a long forgotten instinct buried deep within him, and instinct that caused his mind to go blank while he kicked off from his hiding place with feline grace, leaving a deep trail in the ground behind him. He focused on Dodoria with all the single-mindedness and anger of a territorial panther, pulling his hand back and powering up the necessary energy to blow the alien into a million pieces._

_Dark eyes flickered to the side, locking onto two bright Azure jewels that for some reason seemed to be tracking his movements…_

_The fist connected with Dodoria's side._

_The pink monster was sent flying to the side, not even releasing his hold on the girl. He watched as she was whisked away, shocked again to see her hand stretching towards him through the haze of dust and flying objects._

_Girl. Dragonballs. Wish. Immortality._

_His eyes widened as he immediately flew towards her, grabbing onto her outstretched wrist and easily cutting off Dodoria's arm, watching in satisfaction as it fell with a thump to the ground while it's owner continued to whistle away. The Prince felt the warning signal of detonation tingle through his body and he quickly pulled the girl towards him, grabbing her under the knees and around her shoulders before he disappeared, reappearing outside of the resounding blast with one knee down and the other up, his back to it. The white fury of the blast sent rocks flying and caused the human's hair to whip into his face as she whimpered._

_It took a moment for him to take stock of it all. The girl was sobbing into his chest, keening with a desperation that made him sick. When he felt the tears sink into the blue material of his armor, he quickly pushed her away and got up, glaring as she curled up into a ball and continued to weep._

_He couldn't take that god-awful sound! She needed to shut UP! Part of him begged to simply blast her and be done with it all, but another part seemed to whisper gently into his soul._

_Girl. Dragonballs. Wish. Immortality._

_She was the key to everything. Her Dragonball locator would help him turn the tides against Frieza!_

_So he stilled the murderous urge within him as he approached her from behind, determined to shut her up one way or the other. Grabbing her blue hair he yanked her up from the ground, forcing her to her knees. With a cruel tug he bent her neck back, forcing her to look at him as he searched her face, her eyes. She didn't seem to be able to see him. Maybe they were just obscured by the copious amounts of tears that spilled from them, but he thought that the Azure orbs seemed strangely dull, blank._

_With a sneer at her weakness he shoved her away, watching as she seemed to fall forward in slow motion. Raising his hand, he knocked her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck._

_Girl. Dragonballs. Wish. Immortality._

_It was becoming his own personal mantra._

The Prince growled, tail lashing behind him as he strode from the cave, pacing across the entrance. Sprinkled with the falls water, he tried to calm his nerves. Occasional glances towards the human told him that she would have to take a swim when she woke up before they could continue searching for her 'camp'. She was beginning to stink, and with the blood and dirt covering her, he was certain that she would be getting an infection soon. He did _not_ save her from Dodoria only to have her die from something so stupid as sepsis.

He wasn't feeling to fresh himself, and while things like cleanliness didn't exactly bother a hardened warrior, he had his limits. With one glare he determined that the girl wouldn't just roll over and _die_ while he cleaned himself off in the shallow river.

Discarding his armor and suit, as well as his gloves and boots on the edge of the cave, he stripped himself bare. Stealing one last glance at the blue haired girl he floated carefully down to the river, not reacting at all to the freezing cold of the clear water. Wading in he found that there was only a thin layer of sand at the bottom and beneath it was more gray rock. At its deepest the water only came up to just above his waist. Satisfied with this, he dived under, gliding along the bottom and circling the cove before resurfacing directly under the waterfall.

Tilting his head back, the Saiyan Prince allowed the waterfall to strike his face and roll over his hair, spraying away the more stubborn dirt. Not once did he allow himself to close his eyes though, and not once did he let down his guard. His ears were pricked up like an animals, muscles tensed and ready to spring, every fiber of him focused on his surroundings, his energy silently caressing, tasting the air around him.

Searching.

Feeling.

Exploring.

This was why he felt it immediately when two confused eyes focused on him from above.

* * *

Goku stared calmly out of the spaceship as Earth zoomed out of his view, becoming nothing but a cerulean speck in the vast distance of space in less then a second. It was about time he left Earth. Maybe it was irresponsible of him to leave after only just recovering, and his stomach squirmed uncomfortably at the thought of what ChiChi would do to him when he got back. But while that encounter would be unpleasant, a tugging on something near the regions of his subconscious, a pulling on what might be called his 'sixth sense' told him that if he didn't hurry he would encounter something a lot worse on Namek.

A _lot_ worse.

Painful memories flooded the Saiyan's mind. Every time he had arrived to late to help his friend, every little mistake that had cost a life. Every single time he had been inadequate, unable to protect or so stupid as to make a mistake that any man of average intelligence should be able to avoid.

His failure…

_He stared in horror at the body of his best friend, a little trickle of blood slipping gently out of the corner of his mouth. Cradling his head, Goku stared at his fallen comrade._

_"That boy fought with everything he had, but the beast was just to strong!"_

_Somewhere he knew people were talking about the demon, but he couldn't hear them. He had eyes only for the boy in his arms. Eyes stinging, throat catching with a grief so strong it caused physical pain he stared into the dead eyes below him._

_"K-Krillin?" He whispered, giving the corpse a small shake. "Hey Krillin?"_

_Tears slipped slowly down his cheeks. "H-he's gone."_

_Goku felt his teeth clench, body shaking in anger and remorse. "It should have been me! Krillin!" He shook his best friends body again, harder, and more desperately. If he screamed for him loud enough, if he shook him hard enough, maybe, just maybe he'd come back._

_"Please don't go!" He cried, "I need you Krillin! Y-you're my best friend."_

_"Son…" He felt Master Roshi's hand on his shoulder. "Son, he's not coming back."_

_The boy shook his head, refusing to accept, refusing to lose his best friend. He wouldn't. He couldn't!_

_"NO!" He screamed his denial, feeling that heavenly power rush through him, rocking on the turbulent seas of his emotions. "**KRILLIN!**"_

Goku closed his eyes at the painful memory. They had been so young…

He had known that something horrible was about to happen that day, he had felt it in his gut as Krillin ran back to the stadium to fetch something long forgotten. He had stared at his 17 year-old comrades back, frozen with a quivering terror that he would never see him again.

But he had shaken the feeling off until half way through supper, when he had known, no, when he had _felt_ his best friend in the whole world disappear forever.

And now he had that same feeling, a déjà vu, that ominous foreshadowing. The terrible foreboding that if he needed to get there _now._ He would never again ignore this feeling, not after losing the life of a friend for it. Glancing down at his fist, which he had clenched to the point of breaking the skin on his palm with his nails, he sighed.

He would only get there in a weeks time, and he once again got the terrible flash of déjà vu. Just like when he had been approaching the battle field with Nappa and Vegeta, he feared that he would arrive to late. Krillin's death had been a result of him ignoring his instincts. Piccolo, Yamcha, Tien and Ciaotzu's deaths had been because he simply wasn't fast enough…

This time would be different, this time he would arrive on time. And when he got there, he would be a thousand times stronger! He would train every waking moment of his trip to prepare himself for whatever was coming.

Past failures would only serve to prepare him, and this would be his great redeeming moment. He would once again assert himself as the hero, the only position in which he could find purpose.

Giving the gravity machine a determined look he unclenched his fist, prying his reluctant nails from their embedded place in his skin. With the blood on his palm dripping gentle to the floor, he made a vow.

He was the guardian of every person on that planet, it was his obligation to save the inhabitants from this new threat King Kai had spoken of. It was his brother that had somehow managed to spread the word of the Dragonballs across the universe…

That planets safety was his responsibility. He needed to protect the Namekians, his son and Krillin, Bulma. Even Vegeta. They were all in grave danger according to King Kai.

This time, he would protect all of them. Every. Single. One.

"I'm on my way guys..."

* * *

Bulma groaned into the hard rock beneath her and winced, briefly wondering why she hurt _everywhere. _

Then it came back to her.

Big pink alien. Vegeta. Explosion. Pain. Fear. Rescued.

…Not rescued?

Captured?

Something tugging on her hair. More pain. Vegeta. Angry? At her?

Bad?

…Good?

So much confusion...

But one thing was clear: She was not anywhere she recognised, and _that_ was bad.

Pulling herself up to sit with her legs under her she gasped as her dress and shirt peeled forward and off of her, completely exposing her stomach and breasts.

Shocked at the implications of her torn clothing, she hastily pulled them back up and examined her surroundings. She was in a small, shaded cave and outside she could see the mist of a waterfall or something similar, the rush of which she could clearly hear. Crawling forward and keeping one hand on her chest to hold up the material there she approached the edge of the cave, nervously eyeing the two meter drop below her, plunging into a crisp, extremely cold looking circle of water.

Next to her the waterfall fell into its shallow depths. She almost thought she could see something in it, but the splash and the mist and the actual waterfall obscured whatever strange rock was underneath it.

Leaning further forward to peer around the waterfall, following the flow of the river, she unintentionally bumped her foot against something that had been hidden in the shadow of the cave. Turning behind her she picked up the object, staring quizzically at what she was certain was Vegeta's _boot. _With a concerned frown she glanced around, noticing his other boot resting against the cave wall, on top of his…clothes and his armour.

Her jaw dropped in realization.

That 'rock' in the waterfall. OH GOD!

Scurrying away from the discarded clothing she retreated to the back of the cave, which was so low she couldn't even stand, sitting instead with her knees up to her chin, squeezing her eyes shut. Vegeta was somewhere in the vicinity, 'butt-nekkid' as her father would have put it, and she had woken up with torn clothes!

Many disturbing, and quite frankly _kinky_ situations presented themselves to her minds eye and she gagged.

With Vegeta? EWWW! He was…well, a monster. Granted he had a body that most woman couldn't even _dream _of and if his smirk wasn't the sexiest darn thing she had ever seen, his scowl so frightening and sending _all _the right shivers down her-

Wait, what?

She couldn't believe she had actual considered Vegeta as being attractive! No, no, no, no, no! He was a killer, and killers were all hideous! That was just how an organised universe should work…

But when had her universe ever been organised, she wondered cynically.

An Eternal Dragon that could grant wishes. Why not? Everybody should have one of them babies.

A 5-year-old kid with a tail that could knock out grown men and turn into a giant gorilla when the moon was full. Sure, what would her life have been without Goku?

Space invaders that wanted to decimate her planet, turning it into a barren wasteland and eradicating all life before selling it for prophet?

Yeeeeaaaahhhhh, no. She really could've done without _that_ astronomical mind-rape…

Speaking of rape, she was pretty sure she had just heard footsteps at the cave entrance. Shutting her eyes more firmly she turned her head away. She really didn't want to see Vegeta in his birthday suite, however curious she was about alien, ehm…dangly parts.

But when the footsteps approached her, she couldn't help it. Her eyes flew open and immediately took in just _how much_ of a man Vegeta really was, standing in all his naked glory only a few feet away from her. His tail swished behind him, flinging droplets of water through the air as a trail.

Desperately trying to keep her eyes off of that area, she shifted her stubborn gaze upwards, staring in shock at the smirk on the Saiyan Prince's face.

"See something you like, _girl?_"

* * *

**Oh GAWD! Didn't dat just make you hot and flustered? Nyehehehe...Remember kiddies, this fic will NOT contain explicit rape. So for alls yous peoples getting your hopes up, hold your horses! Don't worry, there will be lemon! (although as I am still in highschool, and thankfully a virgin, I'll be keeping it vague. Wouldn't want a PM that goes along the lines of 'Psssst! That's not how it works ducky!')**

**ehehehe. xD**

**Oh, Oh! I have a picture of their cave linked to my profile! It was really difficult to find one, but the one I got WAS PERFECT! Except for the fact that the cave in the picture was a bit small, and in the picture its a lot less sunny then I imagine it, its really amazing for reference. So go check it out, but don't base your imagination to strictly on the picture. I imagine every image I get from this story in DBZ animation form, so you should probably do the same if you wanna get the full effect :)**

**I hope you liked this, and PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	5. The Swim

**Hey again! So, I've decided to address each and every one of you at the beginning of every chapter. I'll address the reviews of the previous chapter each time, but for this first time Imma gonn address the review from the very first chapter, all the way up to chapter 4!**

**First, a lil A/N: Okay, I watched DBZ for the first time when I was six on TV, the sad, sad censored version, and I immediately fell in love with it. When I was eleven I watched the WHOLE of Dragonball, Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT uncut. I have seen every single episode in existence and every single movie, and now I'm writing a fanfic. Do I have fandom down to an art or WHAT?**

**xD**

**It was the uncensored Funimation English dubbed version, and I fell in love once again. Now I dunno about you, but I had NEVER heard Planet Vegeta being called Vegetasei, Saiyans called Saiyajins or Earth called Chikyuusei until I started reading DBZ fanfiction about a month ago. So, sorry, but I'm gonna stick with saying 'Planet Vegeta' and 'Planet Earth' and 'Saiyans'.**

**Hope none of you mind that arrangement ^^,**

**Onto the review replies I should've given in the previous chapters!**

**Queenyasha ****– **Ahhh, my most loyal reviewer! You were my first, and you've reviewed every chapter so far! I really hope I can satisfy you with this chappie, and when we do get to the lemon you so desperately crave that I don't disappoint ^^, Enjoy!

**thelonewolf987**** – **I do agree with you about the 'more sadistic V/B stories'! I mean, don't get me wrong, daddy Vegeta is definitely still an awesome facet to his personality, but as I have a love for 'Stockholm Syndrome' stories (in fact, all the stories I have ever written have been based around Stockholm Syndrome…) I like his aggressive side. :) Please enjoy some more update vomit!

**Mystik Fire**** –** Your reviews were so sweet! Having my story called 'rare and awesome' really motivated me to continue! I was like, Oh yeah…stroke the ego xD Hope you enjoy, and that I hear from you again!

**Rubyne**** –** I hope this can make you happy again! ^_~ and yes, I am evil! MWUAHAHAHA! Enjoy! :)

**Ayaka86**** –** BOOYA! You think I capture mannerisms and personality's well? YES, I am so glad to hear that! I would HATE to write these two out of character! I don't imagine Vegeta as a lustful lecherous character as some writers make him out to be. He was still very much in denial of his attraction to her, probably even at the very moment Trunks was conceived! So I hope I don't stray into OOCness. :)

**Ponyo**** – **I like where this is heading to! XD I hope you continue to enjoy, and that I hear from, you again soon!

**crazykk2**** – **You guessed right! Sort of…hehehe! And your wish is my command, so here is some more. :) Enjoy!

**Zarahai**** –** I know, I know! I really didn't wanna do the eye thing, but it just seemed so necessary! XD Hehehehe, hope it didn't put you off to much! I mean, I tried to keep it a bit original, even as a cliché. :) Enjoy this chappie!

**Coka Cookie Cola**** –** Man, I said this before and I'll say it again! Epic name! XD hehehe. So, here is another update for you! Enjoy! :)

**Gelly619**** –** I KNOW, right? I have browsed through the first 40 pages of B/V and not found a Namek based fic! ): So, I just had to take things into my own hands! Hehehehe. I've wanted to write this for a while now. You wanna see Vegeta's ass? Get in line darn it! xD

**Ipanda ****–** As I said, I encourage procrastination! I should be working on my technology assignment. And my millions of other assignments. Blegh, grade nine is not as easy as I was hoping it would be o.O But oh well! :D I am so glad you like my story, and as for how I could some up with the plot…I guess I'm related to Bulma. Me = genius? No? xD

**Mariaben**** –** Ahhh, my sister from another mister! I LOVE anti-heroes! They have all the badass sexiness of the evil side, with the lovability of the good side! I tried to keep Vegeta in character, so I'm really glad you're satisfied with this! :) I hope I continue to do an excellent job!

**lady-night-shade04**** –** yes! I am happy to provide you with a DBZ story you like! I know, sometimes I wish someone else had written this story, cause I would love to read it as an outsider… (sighs dreamily) Oh well, I'll be happy with keeping all of my faithful readers happy :D

**menga88**** –** Ahhh, one of my favorite reviews! So informative, I want more reviews from you! XD And I am so glad someone actually said something about my writing style! I really dunno about it sometimes :? Hehehe, but I'm ecstatic that you like it! Hope you continue to enjoy xD

**Josie**** –** Yeah, protective Vegeta is so cute, especially when he battles with his own feelings. I really enjoy writing him like this! Your reviews made me happy! If you truly wanna marry my fic, I'm serious about being the minister! xD

**More**** –** Indeed. More xD

**Jaylee-Rebel**** –** Pshh, I wanna see him in all his naked glory! Lucky Bulma xD hehehe…Nyyeeeessshhh, My cliffhangers are EVVVIIILLL! MWUAHAHAHA! ^_~ So, hope this update was fast enough for you! Enjoy!

**ZOMFG! I missed some of you, so I'm re-uploading the chapter with your thank you notes!**

**Deza-chan - **muito obrigado por uma revisão em português! Espero que meus capítulos continuar a te agradar! :)

**ohhh, wait, I see what happened...Nevermind, all of you I missed I'll put into the next chapter! ^^**

**Okay! Now that I have addressed my lovely reviewers, I wanna implore all you silent-joes faving and story-alerting this fic to review as well! While faves and alerts make me happy, reviews make me ecstatic! Don't get me wrong, I love my readers all the same, but I wanna know what you think ^^ Pwetty Pwease?**

**Okay, finished with the begging now! Enjoy this chapter!**

**The Swim**

Landing with cat-like grace in the entrance of the cave, Vegeta silently scanned the shadowed, rocky surface of the floor. Quickly locking onto his strewn clothing the Prince frowned. Raising his dark gaze up from the floor he shot it instead at the figure huddled at the back of the cave. The girl had pulled her knees up to her chin, pressing her exposed back against the hard stone, which must surely have hurt.

To his amusement she had her eyes closed, a faint flutter of pink tingeing her pale cheeks. Smirking at her obvious discomfort the Prince approached her, not even attempting to keep his footsteps silent. The water ran in gentle rivulets down his body, dripping from the tips of his fingers and hair to the cold stone below his feet, leaving a trail behind him. His tail swayed gently, flinging water into the air.

The girl tensed immediately as he drew closer, flinging her head to the side and squeezing her eyes so tightly closed that the skin scrunched up and crinkled.

But when the ceiling sloped to far down he had to stop, his flaming hair barely reaching the stone above. As his last footstep fell the girl flung her eyes open, whipping her head around and immediately taking him in. Her eyes didn't even make it to his face at first, centering instead on his groin. He rose his brow as she turned bright red, immediately swinging her gaze upwards in time to see the smirk that darkened his features.

With a silent swish of his tail he raised his chin proudly, staring down at her past the bridge of his nose.

"See something you like, girl?" He asked mockingly. He had hardly expected her to act the way she was, expecting her to simply quiver in fear as usual. Instead she seemed…uncomfortable. Embarrassed.

Eyes playing over her, examining her change in body language, he caught sight of the milky curve of her waist. Narrowing his eyes he took in the hand holding the front of her clothing protectively against her chest. The girl glared at him, countenance filled with fear, but at the same time, ferocity.

"Don't touch me you creep!" She spat, using her feet to push her further up against the wall. He caught the look of brief pain on her features at the pressure to her wounds.

Then comprehension dawned.

A booming laugh filled the cave as Vegeta threw his head back in a hearty display of mirth. Oh this was just to good!

Ceasing his laughter, he righted his posture before leaning down towards the girl, smirk still in place as he took in her confused and frightened expression, still a bare glint of defiance in her features.

"You fear that I will touch you, girl?" He sneered. Bulma glanced away briefly before nodding.

"H-haven't you already?" She whispered in shame.

Vegeta stood back up, pivoting on one heal and walking away from the girl. "Please," He snorted, "As if your disgusting, _weak_ little body could ever compare to that of a Saiyan woman's." Picking up his blue spandex suite he pulled it on in one graceful, fluid moment. Sitting down he slipped his foot into one of his gold-tipped boots.

Hearing the scuffling coming from the back of the cave he glanced up, seeing Bulma padding timidly towards him. "So, you didn't…I mean, my dress…"

Vegeta frowned as he pulled on the other boot, standing before replying to her. "As I said, pitiful human. You disgust me, I would never lower myself to touch filthy trash such as yourself."

The girl stood only a few feet away from him, still holding her tattered clothing to her chest. But as he pulled on his gloves, still glaring condescendingly at her from the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of something rare cross her features.

Pride.

"Excuse me, Mister!" She growled, shifting the weight on her hips, something he noticed she only did when agitated or angry. "I'll have you know that I am considered one of the most beautiful women on my planet!"

Picking up his damaged armor Vegeta replied scathingly, with an audible growl, "Then you Earthlings must be even more foolish then I had thought."

Bulma frowned angrily clenching the fist that wasn't keeping her dress to her chest. Glaring stubbornly to the side as Vegeta completed donning his armor, something occurred to her suddenly. She felt the anger at his insults slowly ebb away.

"I…" She faltered, still not looking him in the eye though, even as she felt his gaze shift to her. "Thank you."

She heard him pause, all movements and sounds halting. Not daring to even glance at him, she continued, elaborating as best she could. "Thank you for saving me from that thing."

She heard him snort again as he continued moving around, adjusting his armor one last time. "I didn't do it to save _you_, idiot girl. I need you to find the Dragonball locator, that is all."

Bulma huffed, finally allowing herself to look at him. He seemed to be ignoring her now, adjusting the shoulder pad of his armor, irritation clear on his features. With a growl he simply gripped at it and pulled, allowing for the irritating appendage to rip off from the rest of the suit. Moving his shoulder in circles he seemed satisfied with the movability.

"Fine," She grumbled. "Whatever. Are we going again?"

Vegeta looked up from his shoulder, forehead creasing as though he had just come out of deep thought. After a pause he nodded. "Yes, we will be leaving to search for this 'camp' again today." His eyes traveled over her again, catching the shadow of a hand-shaped bruise forming around her mouth. With an angry twitch of his mouth he approached her. "But first, you're going for a swim."

"Wh-what?" Bulma asked, backing away from the Prince as he descended upon her. He grabbed her shoulder firmly and dragged her to the end of the cave. She whimpered slightly, staring with wide eyes at Vegeta, who seemed to be quite determined in whatever he was doing.

The Prince raised his hand to her stomach, fisting the material she held there and giving it a firm tug. Bulma screamed as her yellow dress tore away completely and the top of her black suite, leaving her standing completely exposed from the hips up. Vegeta tossed the useless material to the back of the cave. She hastily covered her breasts, still screaming as she tried to pull away from him, tugging uselessly at his vice-like grip.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" She cried, tears of humiliation springing to her eyes as the prince easily ripped away her black tights, leaving her only in her skimpy gray underwear, which he mercifully left alone, and her shoes.

With a pitiless, completely uninterested stare he replied, tone simply screaming apathy, "As I said, you are going for a swim."

And with that he stood on the tips of her boots and lifted her into the air, effortlessly pulling her out of the shoes before he flung her over the edge of the cave, hard enough to send her flying into the middle of the river, where it was deepest. She landed with a small splash on her side, sinking under the water.

After a few seconds she resurfaced, gasping and spluttering. The dirt had, for the most part, been washed away from her face and her hair hung in limp blue tangles around her furious countenance.

"You jerk!" She screamed up at him. He lent nonchalantly against the cave wall, arms crossed and watching with mild interest as she screamed obscenities up at him. She was certainly livelier then she had been before, and he was having a hard time deciding which he preferred: The sub-catatonic whimpering coward of a girl that she had been, or this irritating loud-mouthed human who practically begged to be taught a lesson in humility.

With a gentle twitch of his brow when she came up with a particularly colorful illustration of what exactly his private areas would look like if she ever got her hands on them, he decided he rather liked this new, livelier her. At least she was more entertaining then the shivering slip of a girl she had been for the past 12 hours.

"Listen up, girl!" He hollered from the cave entrance, "Clean yourself up and wash away your hideous stench!"

She looked like she had just been slapped. "My hideous stench?" She screamed in disbelieving fury. "Don't even get me started on yours, you insufferable little man!"

"Yes," Vegeta cut her off calmly, "I would admit to not being the picture of cleanliness. But instead of _bitching_ about it, I got to work and cleaned myself up!"

Bulma seethed silently at that, inwardly wincing at the pain the fresh water had on her back. Tentatively raising a hand to her back under Vegeta's watchful gaze, she prodded at the skin there, gasping at the pain. She could feel how the flesh was raised around her puncture wounds and the crusted blood. She frowned at the feeling, knowing the pain was not the simple one of bruises. There was puss gathering under the skin and she grimaced at the thought.

Vegeta was right, she needed to clean herself off as best she could. They had left in a hurry after Vegeta had taken their Dragonball, heading straight to Guru's place. She inwardly cursed the stupidity of not taken a box of capsules with. But at least she still had the small capsule keeping a few basics tucked into the breast pocket of her dress. The capsule contained a box of candy bars, several bottles of water, a few plasters on a strip, a half used bar of soap, a comb, a pillow and blanket and a spare change of clothes.

Nothing much to help her with her serious wounds but at least she wouldn't have to travel around naked with Vegeta and she could get some food into her. And if he could just toss down the tattered remains of her dress, she could swim over to the tiny bank opposite the cave and activate the capsule there.

"Fine!" She called up. "I'll get clean, just throw me the front of my dress!"

Vegeta smirked at her ridiculous request, probably something to do with her pitiful attempt at modesty. As if he would ever covet glances at her smooth, perfect form. The milky skin of her thighs, the hourglass shape of her figure, the firm, rounded curve of her rear and the large, perky globes on her chest.

The graceful arch of her back, the slender shape of her neck…

The Prince shook himself mentally, disgusted with where his thoughts had taken him. She was a weak, frail, irritating peasant of a human! He, the Prince of all Saiyans, would never ever feel attraction for something so weak, vulnerable. Something he could destroy with a bare flick of his wrist. She was nothing but a pest that he had to put up with. Not for long though...As soon as he got his hands on the Dragonball locating device, she became expendable.

Storming over to the front of her dress, he returned to the edge of the cave, throwing it down to her waiting arms, firmly ignoring her floating breasts and returning to leaning against the cave mouth.

Bulma happily caught the ragged piece of material, undoing the button that allowed access to the pocket containing her capsule. The bottom of the cloth swayed in the water as she pulled out the tiny device. She picked the yellow rag up, wrapping it around her back and tying it loosely across her chest in a makeshift cape as she waded out of the water to the opposite bank, not wanting to give Vegeta another view of her backside.

She still felt his gaze burn into the back of her neck and hastily threw the capsule down, watching in satisfaction as the plastic box appeared in an explosion of smoke. She heard Vegeta's affronted yell of surprise and couldn't help but smirk. She loved showing off her toys.

"What witchery is this, girl!" he roared from the cave behind her. She happily ignored him, digging in the box to find the soap and her spare cloths. She frowned at the stupidity of not packing a towel into her emergency capsule.

Retrieving the soap and her spare set of cloths, she placed them on the sunny rocks of the small bank. Staring in satisfaction at the skimpy outfit, she _dared_ the prince not to find her attractive in a pair of skin-tight mini-jean shorts and a red tank top that stubbornly refused to cover her belly button and hugged her breasts tight enough to make a bra unnecessary. God only knew why her emergency outfit was so revealing, but she found that it suited her purposes just fine.

Not that she wanted him to be attracted to her, no! She just wanted him to acknowledge that she was not nearly so hideous as he would like to think! Stupid jerk, making her feel ugly!

The air whistled slightly as Vegeta flew through it, landing next to the girl while she examined her clothing. He grabbed her wrist, yanking her to her feet and making her drop the tank top, the remains of the dress slipping away from her form, landing with a wet 'splat' on the warm rock around her feet.

Vegeta refused to look at the perky breasts completely in his line of vision, instead focusing on glaring into her eyes. "I said, what is that thing!"

Bulma covered her breasts with the arm not held captive by the prince and rolled her eyes, feeling all of her fear for him fall away. He may have been an all-powerful alien that held her prisoner, but he was also just another sod that got freaked out by capsule-technology.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed when he saw her rolling her own, and he twisted her wrist at an awkward angle, making the rest of her body follow in order to prevent it from snapping.

"Ow!" She protested, indignant.

"Indeed." The Prince murmured. "Now, tell me. What sort of creature are you, to simply conjure this…" He gestured to the open box. "Have you been tricking me?" His grip on her wrist tightened. "Have you been able to conjure the Dragonball locator this whole time?"

Bulma grimaced, feeling the circulation being cut off to her hand. "No, idiot!" She grumbled, glaring daggers at the Prince. "It's a capsule, okay? It's a really small device used to store big things that activate when you press its two halves together and throw it on the ground! And no, I couldn't just conjure the Dragon-radar; it's not in that capsule! Now let go!"

Vegeta reluctantly released her wrist, still glaring suspiciously as she immediately stepped back and brought her other arm up to better cover her chest. She glared back, cradling her sore wrist, rubbing it to restart the circulation.

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his gaze to stare curiously at the box.

"So you have more of these things then?"

"Yes."

"What is the largest thing that you could keep in these 'capsules'?" He asked, seemingly lost in thought.

Bulma shrugged. "The largest thing we've ever kept in a capsule was a house. Why?"

Vegeta immediately whipped his head around to stare at her in surprise. "A house?"

"Yeah, we have one back at our camp, in the cave. _Why?_" She repeated.

Vegeta did not reply, simply rising into the air and dissapearing into the cave. Bulma frowned for a few moments before sighing and picking up the discarded soap, once again wading into the freezing water.

Using the thin layer of rough sand at the bottom of the river, Bulma scrubbed roughly at her skin until it was a pleasant pink color before finally lathering soap over her form, allowing it to gently rub away the dried blood on her back. She hadn't touched her back with the sand, finding it to painful, but she allowed the soap to gentle caress the damaged skin and dissolve the dried blood, feeling a painful sting as some of the white foam found its way into her wounds.

Absorbed as she was in her task of cleaning herself, she did not notice Vegeta's dark gaze following her movements, the way the sun reflected off her wet skin, highlighting the luminous blue in her hair. His eyes traced scorching lines across her back, taking in every bruise and puncture, regretting that he hadn't had the chance to see her back when it was still as flawless as the rest of her. Not that the rest of her was flawless, she was hurt pretty much everywhere in one way or another.

The few patches of skin that remained untouched seemed to glow almost painfully bright, white in the paleness of the powerful sunlight. But the Prince did eventually manage to tear his scrutinizing gaze away from her when she stepped into the waterfalls cool embrace, a small rainbow dancing around her.

Retreating further into the shadows of the cave, the Prince decided he needed to reevaluate the girls worth. Idly he wondered if she had more useful tricks up her sleeve, and how badly he would regret it if he killed her before she got the chance to reveal them.

* * *

Once done with her waterfall 'shower' Bulma backed up enough to glance into the cave, trying to find some trace of Vegeta. When all she saw was shadow, she got out of the water, and picked up the remains of her yellow dress, now somewhat dry from the suns rays and the gentle breeze that blew in through the gap in the cove through which the river flowed.

Using it as a make-shift towel, she wiped at her legs and stomach, gently padding at her back. Feeling that she was dry enough to put on her clothes, she slipped the fresh, lacy black underwear on, putting on the tiny shorts after. She found to her surprise that they fit her a lot more loosely then she remembered, as if she had lost weight. Doing up the zip and button she ignored the matching bra, slipping the red tank top on nest. To her satisfaction, her breasts had not shrunk and the material still hugged them tight enough to hold them in place. She had not gotten any shorter either, and the top still stopped some way between her breasts and belly button.

Dragging the comb through her terribly tangled, and wet hair, Bulma wished she had a mirror, certain that she looked positively _smoking_. Even though the tank exposed her injured back to the air, making her feel slightly vulnerable, she also felt that some fresh air might be good for the wounds instead of the stale confinement and sweat under a shirt. She was actually grateful to be able to get out of the dress and black suite on this ridiculously hot planet.

With a pair of sandals to complete what really looked like beach-ware, Bulma pulled out a candy-bar and a bottle of chilled water. While the river was most probably fresh and safe to drink, she felt that it would be best to let the natural flow carry the soap and sweat and dirt away for a little longer.

She actually felt contented for a moment. Vegeta was nowhere to be seen, she felt relatively fresh compared to how she had been earlier and she had food and water. Things would get even better after she and Vegeta had found the camp. They could capsulize the house and bring it back with them, along with all the food and water and toiletries and set the house to fit the cave.

She really didn't want to consider what would happen after the dragonballs had been found, so for a while she just let herself be happy with the thought of making the little cove feel homey. It was actual quite beautiful, with its clear, sparkling water, the sun shining on the pebbles and sand at the bottom of the river and reflecting wavering rays of golden light across the walls of the surrounding rocks.

And the waterfall had a permanent rainbow. She allowed herself to smile and slip her feet into the water, wriggling her toes. She wasn't sure why she was allowing herself to feel happy in her predicament, but the cove just had a calming effect on her. Besides, Vegeta hadn't done anything major to hurt her, and other then the jabs to her looks and the way he had ripped her clothes off and tossed her in the water, he had been almost civil with her. At least he hadn't threatened her life, and besides, she didn't care what he said: He had saved her from the pink monster. Plain and simple.

Heck, maybe he was even softening up a bit! Maybe she could pull a Gohan and sway another bad-guy to their side just by being cute! After all, who had been able to predict Piccolo turning into a softie for a 5 year old kid...

Bulma chuckled inwardly as the random image of Piccolo dressed in a Santa Clause outfit with Gohan on his lap floated through her mind. Of course, she didn't even want to _start_ imagining Vegeta in dressed like that...

But still, if Evil Demon King Piccolo's even _more _evil son could be swayed, then surely Vegeta could to?

"Get up, girl. We're leaving."

Bulma jumped and looked up, startled. She hadn't even seen Vegeta float out of the cave and stop to hover above her. He descending quietly, landing with a soft padding noise from his boots. She got to her feet and tried a tentative smile. Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her and furrowed his brow.

"What do you think you're smiling at?" He growled before grabbing her around the waist and chucking her over his shoulder again.

"Nothing..." Bulma almost sulked into the small of his back. He 'humphed' and took off into the air.

Well, it had been worth a try. The smile had failed, but she was determined! She would be the one to turn Vegeta to the side of good! Using her beauty and natural charm, she would melt his frozen exterior and reveal the guy that had rushed to save her from Dodoria, whoever that guy was!

"Fall asleep again, girl" Vegeta began scathingly, "And I will make your death as slow and painful as I possibly can, understand?"

Then again, maybe not...

* * *

**So, I hope you all liked this! Bulma has sort of come out of her shell after Vegeta 'saved' her. And yay, they're both clean! No more sweatyness (for now!)**

** I'm sorry, but that cove is just such a vivid image in my head! I painted a picture of it with DeviantArt and I'm gonna link the picture to my profile, so please check it out! **

**Hey, i've had an idea swimming around my head for some time now. I know Namek doesn't have any nights, but I just so badly want them to sit in that cave at night time with a fire burning! So, I was thinking, what if instead of having NO nights, Namek has a 15 hour night every two weeks or something? Tell me what you think of this idea in a review please! (if anyone actually reads these A/N's...)**

**So, whats gonna happen now that Bulma's trying to melt Vegeta's frozen heart? Or thinking about it. And Vegeta is in serious denial (wasn't he ALWAYS?) **

**Anywho, PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! I love reviews so, so, so, so, SO MUCH! COOKIES TO MY REVIEWERS! I think theres a possibility I could get over 100 reviews for this story! *squeals***

**Hope ya'll enjoyed!**


	6. Into the Fire

hey guys! Sorry for the long time it took to update this! Dx

I have been real busy with assignments, projects, tests and such. Also, i got my own room for the first time in six years, ditched my little sister to deal with the old one while I get a brand-spanking new room! So yeah, that was pretty distracting ^^

Anywho, since its been so long, I've kinda forgotten who reviewed and who didn't, and who I addressed and who I still need to, so if I leave you out PLEASE forgive me! Just tell me in your review and I'll come back and add you :D

**Sagacity** - yes, glad you like it! Lots of ppl thought the idea of Namek having a night was good, so I'm really happy about that :D Enjoy!

**Mystik Fire** - Cool, sounds like we have a lot in common! :D lol, but I'm not a 'good girl' per se. As a healthy high school teen, I am very educated in…the theory. Lol xD No, sorry, I've never heard of NCIS. Why? What's it about? What makes ya think I've watched it? Lol, sorry, random questions! ^^ Anyway, thanks so much for your review. It was very ego-boosting, and I am SO glad I got all that stuff right! Enjoy this chapter Mystik!

**YukiraKing** - Thanks so much hey, your reviews were really sweet (and there were lots of em!) and I am so thrilled that you're enjoying this! I hope you continue to do so with this chappie!

**Coka Cookie Cola** - hey man, I call it as I see it. And I haven't seen such an awesome name since 'The Evil Sniff' :D Another person who liked the night idea! YES! Hope this satisfies you :)

**Gelly619** - Lol. She…needs an adult? Hope you like this Gelly!

**pink-strawberries** - PURE awesomeness huh? Good! I only drink pure awesomeness. Tap awesomeness is gross. And I prefer it chilled, how bowt you? :D

**botgal** - Hmmm, ya know, you're right! The summary makes it seem like Gohan has a bigger role. Originally I wasn't planning on giving him a big one, even when I wrote that summary, but I'm considering it now. Thanks so much for your review, hope ya love this!

**Jaylee-Rebel** - YES, you read my mind! I was thinking exactly the same thing! Like, a gap of sorts! I hope you don't dive over this MASSIVE cliffhanger! Hehehehe :D

**Momiji** - Ahhh, thanks for clearing that up :) I really was wondering what the heck people were on about. Lol. Thanks for your comment about the cove! I can just really visualise it ^^, enjoy this!

**menga88** - Ahhh, constructive criticism is a bruise that heals other bruises my friend! Keep it coming! Lol, I tried to use 'too' when necessary, dunno if I got it right though xD Oh well, hope that doesn't distract you from this _too_ much! ^^,

**Josie** – I now pronounce you Josie and fanfic xD Oooh, you QUOTED! Yay, that's never happened to me in a review before! O.O Thanks man, hope ya love this one!

**Shirochan21** – Your help would be much appreciated, Whitey-chan! :D Hope you enjoy this, and you should check out my Bleach story (since you seem to watch Bleach) =)

Queenyasha – I could just eat you up! XD Your reviews make me puff up like a peacock! Thanks so much for all your kind words, and I strive to continue pleasing! I think next chapter will have you squeeing! (not gonna say why though!)

**Tessa** - =D hehehe, glad you liked! Enjoy this one too!

**dolce-bebe** - An update, as requested madam! :) Enjoy!

**Death Princess9** - AHHH! 'fabfic'! WIN! Lol, thanks! Hope ya enjoy this chappie too!

**Meteorleopard **– Yeah, took ya ages! And you didn't leave you name, moffie! XD anywho, thankies for the review (again) and anything I can do to get ppl to LURVE Vegeta, Ya know, Suede thinks hes ugly. UGLY? Seriously, some girls these days…Hmmm, angry dwarf, huh? Well, he does get taller as the series goes on! Promise! Hehehe.

Okay, you all seemed to like the idea of a 15 hour night (YESH!) so, I hope you enjoy!

**Out of the Frying Pan...Into the Fire:**

Gohan's tail straightened out almost spasmodically, and a reflexive burst of energy shot from his palm. His head swung forward as he sat up, eyes widened like saucers. Feeling like a microwave that had beeped after the food was finished cooking, he flexed his fingers and concentrated on the flow of energy that ran through his veins.

Soft gossamer strands swam through his blood, and he followed their path, willing them to travel to his core, the source of his energy, near the region of his stomach. When he felt every single thread of power that laced through him make its way to that source, he let out a sigh of relief.

His energy was no longer focused on his wounds, and there was still an excess floating around his source, aimless. His body was not completely healed, but at least he was back to full power. And he didn't have to focus any attention on his physical body anymore; he would naturally recover. What he had really been worried about was the slow recovery of ki. But now that that seemed sorted…

"Krillin!" He hissed to his sleeping friend, shaking the bald mans shoulder eagerly. "Hey Krillin, wake up!"

Krillin's eyes opened slowly, reluctantly so that the monk could glare blearily at the half Saiyan.

"What?" He groaned. Gohan had taken a bad beating, but Vegeta had only been venting, more eager to let off some steam then he had been with Krillin. No, with the monk, Vegeta had clearly been planning to take him out of the game permanently. In fact, had it not been for the fact that his precious Dragonball had been falling along with Bulma, he would have probably taken more time to end him.

As it was, Krillin felt like his spine was smashed. Accelerated healing, while helpful, wasn't nearly as effective with his wounds as it was with Gohan's.

"Sorry, Krillin." Gohan apologized, frowning in concern. "It's just that, I've recharged now. And…" He bit his lip, indecision masking his face for a moment, "And, I need you to take me to Guru's! We're running out of time to save Bulma, Vegeta could…"

Krillin cocked a brow at the kid, discouraging him from finishing the sentence as planned.

"Y-you know," He mumbled, sliding a finger suggestively over his throat. Krillin looked away at the ground with an angry scowl. "And at any time!" Gohan continued, insistent.

"Gohan," Krillin said, his scowl evaporating as he saw the innocent child before him, a pure being with nothing else in mind then to rescue his friend. Such a good person, just like his father...With a sad smile, placing a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, Krillin continued "You didn't need to convince me! Of course I'll take you to Guru's."

The monk shakily got to his feet, grinning sheepishly at Gohan, who flipped himself up acrobatically.

"Guess it pays to be a Saiyan, huh?" He asked, good-natured jealousy flavoring his tone as his eyes traced burns across Gohan's faded wounds.

"I guess so…"

An awkward silence prevailed.

"Well," Krillin said after a moment. "I guess we'd better not waste any more time."

"Yeah…"

Nodding once, the monk charged up, hiding his pain-filled expression from Gohan as his energy burnt like acid across his back. His body was broken, but all he needed to carry him was will power and enough stored Ki, which he was fairly certain he had.

Gohan bit his lip as he followed Krillin, slightly ashamed at having disturbed his healing just so he could be taken to Guru's. But he really needed to get stronger if he was to have any hope of saving Bulma from Vegeta!

'Hey, is it getting darker? And really cold?" Krillin suddenly asked, looking down at the flying boy.

Gohan nodded up at him, surprised at the change in the usually constant sky and temperature. "Yeah, it is."

"Hmmm."

They were silent for a while after, Gohan's thoughts running in circles as he contemplated worst-case scenarios. Krillin collapsing because he wasn't healed enough, Vegeta finding them…with or without Bulma.

The boy shuddered, hatred and anger coursing through his veins. He would make Vegeta pay for hurting his friends. His dad never should have let him escape, and now, Bulma would pay the price for his father's mistakes. He didn't even want to think about the horrendous torture and abuse that the young woman was surely being put through…

* * *

By the time they touched back down, Bulma was exhausted. They had been unable to locate the 'missing' camp, and she had pretty much been stuck on Vegeta's back all day, freezing cold from her skimpy outfit. In fact, the drop in temperature had come as both an unpleasant, and relieving surprise. Days on the planet were so hot! But, she had been certain that the temperatures remained consistent, and had been looking forward to the strong rays of the sun relieving her from the chill of the wind.

As it was, it had been getting steadily colder all day, and, if she was not mistaken, darker.

Her muscles cramped from lack of movement and the uncomfortable position of being thrown over Vegeta's shoulder for over 9 hours with no rest or movement. Not to mention she had gotten possibly the _worst_ case of sunburn _ever _on the back of her neck and legs, and on the parts of her back that the tank top didn't cover. Her puncture wounds were now pretty much dried out from their thorough toasting, the skin around them no longer inflamed by puss so much as from the sun, except for a few that her top had covered, which were rather nasty from getting no air and being dampened by sweat.

So it was that when Vegeta dumped her unceremoniously onto the cave floor that she landed flat on her back, hissing in pain, but unable to get up. Pins and needles flew through her legs and her stiff muscles protested at the treatment.

Vegeta, however, seemed completely oblivious to her pain, storming further into the cave.

"You are completely useless, aren't you, you _stupid_ girl! We did nothing but waste time, all day, flying around over _half the fucking planet!_ And where did it get me?"

Bulma felt the warning signals flash, and immediately ignored her pain and discomfort, pulling herself into a sitting position and scooting backwards, sitting huddled against the wall with nothing but the instinct to make herself as small as possible. Vegeta whipped around upon hearing her move, and pointed an accusing finger.

"If I had _any_ senses about me, I'd say you were doing this on purpose, delaying our progress! Is that what you're doing girl?" He stalked slowly closer, Bulma instinctively bringing her her legs up to her chest for some semblance of protection, curling in her toes.

"_You_…" Vegeta began, venom tainting his harsh voice, turning the murmur into a devilish hiss, "Are a waste of time and energy."

Bulma watched in horror as the Saiyan Prince raised his hand, palm set in a 90-degree angle to his wrist and facing her. With a detached, horrified sort of fascination, she watched the Ki form in his hands, illuminating the darkness of the cave.

"I'm going to blast you into Oblivion, unless you can find _one reason_ why I shouldn't! And it had better be good, you _pathetic_ Earthling child!"

Bulma realized that she needed to speak, she needed to convince him why he shouldn't kill her, and quickly. But her mind had gone strangely blank. All she could do was stare, hypnotized by the energy under Vegeta's command. It was growing larger, brighter, and getting closer as he took several menacing steps forward.

His face, illuminated behind the glowing ball, shone with fury before quickly switching into a satisfied smirk at her silence.

"Didn't think so."

He gripped his wrist with his other hand, ready to let fly.

"Wait!"

His face registered annoyance for a moment, and she was certain that he would kill her anyhow. But then, to her surprise, moments passed and she was…

Not a messy splatter against the cave wall!

Relief flew through her, muting her for a few moments. Only Vegeta's angry growl of "Well?" could get her to open her mouth. However, the words froze in them. She realized that she had nothing to say. She had no clue where her camp was, and without finding it she had no chance of finding the Dragon-radar, and without the Dragon-radar, she really _was_ useless!

"I'm waiting, Earthling."

Her mouth opened and closed, but before she could mumble anything coherent, her stomach let out a vicious growl. And with that, inspiration struck.

"Food!" She cried, all to loudly and enthusiastically she realized when she saw Vegeta's taken aback look. She blushed for a moment, lowering and controlling her voice before she spoke again. "I have food! If a huge appetite really is a Saiyan thing, then you must be starving!"

Vegeta lowered his arm slowly, but she noticed with some apprehension that he had not powered down the Ki blast. She followed its progress through the air, her eyes wary.

"Food?" Vegeta inquired, and for a moment she was certain that she could see amusement on his face. "You want me to spare your life, because you have somehow managed to store some meager sustenance on you?"

"Not meager!" She insisted, getting shakily to her feet, surprised at how close he really was. He seemed to notice their proximity as well, taking a step back. Bulma fumbled with the capsule tucked into her jean pocket, somehow managing to withdraw it despite her shaky hands. Glancing sideways at Vegeta, checking his reaction to her movements. She was encouraged by his intrigued expression.

Pressing together the two halves of the capsule, Bulma tossed it away, and it rolled towards the back of the cave for a second before erupting into a cloud of smoke.

She heard Vegeta's intake of breath, but couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes again. Padding cautiously over to the side of the container that emerged from the smoke, she pulled open the lid. Rummaging inside, she found her candy bars, and several packages containing the strange dried meat her father had brought home with him from a business trip to South Africa.

She pulled out one such package, a large, heavy thing that let forth a savory aroma, a mixture of foreign spices and meat. Turning around she let out a gasp of breath when she met Vegeta right behind her. He stared down at her, cocking a dark brow at her wide eyes and cry of surprise.

"H-here." She thrust the package into his chest and stepped back as his hands clutched at it, allowing him to examine the contents of the bag. Biting her lip in worry as Vegeta pulled forth a strip of the meat, she creased her brow when he brought it to his mouth.

The look on his face was thoughtful as he chewed, and soon enough he was digging in the bag again, bringing forward handfuls of the meat. After a particularly large swallow, he paused, studying her.

"What do you call this?"

Bulma tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jean-shorts, anxiously rocking on her heals. "It's called biltong. Spiced dried meat that my dad discovered in Africa. He liked it so much that he had it imported in bulk…"

Vegeta was silent for another moment as he chewed again.

"Biltong…" He began after another swallow, "Interesting. I have never tasted such meat. We usually consume our meat raw, and if cooked, it is never spiced."

Bulma found her mouth opening in surprise. But Saiyans loved their food! How could they stand eating it blandly?

"Why?" She asked, and then mentally slapped herself. It was crucial at this point that she stay in the mans good books, if he had any, lest he still decide to kill her. He didn't seem to mind the question however, answering with a shrug, and he kept his nastiness and sarcasm to the minimal.

"When you are in an army based around galactic conquest, you rarely find time for prepared meals."

"R-right…" Silence prevailed for a minute or two as Vegeta continued to ravage the package, emptying it at ten times the normal speed that a human could. He then tossed the packet and shoved his hand forward, palm up, curling and uncurling his fingers suggestively. Bulma swallowed thickly and placed another bag into the Prince's hand, grabbing one for herself.

She watched in awe as Vegeta went through 6 packages, the equivalent of 7kg's worth of meat. When he was done, he fished a bottle of water from the container, downing it in one go.

Bulma was still on her first packet, and froze with a strip of biltong halfway towards her mouth, a comical expression on her face when the Princes eyes locked onto her. He tossed the bottle, and approached her. She had managed to circle around the container, further towards the back of the cave, and as he came closer she felt very much cornered.

"You have more of this…'biltong' at your camp then?" He asked.

"Well," Bulma began nervously, "Not biltong, but we do have other meats and spices that could be prepared differently!"

The Prince nodded, pivoting in one heel and strolling away.

"That will be…satisfying. You live, for now."

Bulma let out a sigh of relief, her quivering knees bringing her to the stone floor. She watched Vegeta walk towards the cave entrance, and suddenly something occurred to her.

The sky outside was dark!

"Hey!" She exclaimed, springing to her feet to rush around the container. Vegeta cast her a look of curious surprise as she dashed past him, stopping at the cave exit to stare joyfully at the star-filled, _night _sky. The gentle mist from the waterfall that cascaded next to her dampened her skin, a chill running through her. She grinned.

"Hah!" She exclaimed happily, "That explains why the temperature dropped, it's night time!"

"Stupid girl, of course it's night time! What were you expecting?"

Bulma turned around and placed an indignant hand on her hip. "Haven't you noticed that there's been no night since we got here? This planet is _supposed_ to have eternal day."

Vegeta scoffed, "What ridiculous fool told you that story?"

Affronted, the blue haired girl replied sassily, "One of the locals, a _Namekian_ child. I'd wager that he'd no more about _his own planet_ then you do, Mister!"

"Bah!" The Prince scowled, "Apparently not, because as you have clearly noticed, this _is_ night!"

"Yeah, but I'm saying it's not supposed to _be _night! One of the suns should always be up."

"Are you _truly_ such an idiot? The planet would have to have _some_ time to recuperate from these blasted rays, or else nothing would grow here!"

"Nothing _does_ grow here!"

There was silence for a moment as the two stared each other down, Bulma suddenly realizing with a rush of fear and adrenaline, that she had just argued with her captor, who had not twenty minutes ago been ready to kill her!

The air was tense for a moment, and Bulma felt the blood pound heavily through her ears and Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her.

Then, suddenly, the Saiyan Prince threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter, which turned into a fit of mirth, toning down into a chuckle when he once again met her confused eyes.

"Touché, girl." He smirked, "I must say, you can be quite entertaining when you're not cowering in fear!"

Bulma blinked slowly, absorbing what had just happened. In stead of being pissed of at her comments, he was…mocking her?

She threw her hands up and made a furious growl of exasperation. "Well, glad I could be of service! Maybe you'll find more uses for me, you know, if you don't _kill me_ of course!"

She said it sarcastically, but Vegeta's look turned almost pondering at her words. "Yes, maybe I will," His devilish grin returned, "_If_ I don't kill you that is."

Bulma licked her lips frightfully, but showed no other signs of being disturbed. With an angry sigh forced though clenched teeth, she made her way past him once again.

His hand shot out and gripped the top of her arm. She flinched, staring wide-eyed at Vegeta, who was regarding her seriously. "Just remember, girl, that while your brazen personality is somewhat intriguing, and quite frankly amusing, should I ever find you getting out of hand, and on my nerves…"

She gulped.

"Well," He murmured, almost enticingly, his eyelids lowering while his mouth curved into a lazy grin, "Lets just say there wouldn't be much for the carrion creatures."

Bulma yanked her arm away, relieved when he allowed her release. She lowered her eyes, unwilling to meet his evil gaze. She understood…Her outbursts served only to entertain him, and once he got bored of her complaining she would have to shut up and take it…She clenched her fist, silently wishing she could find the will to flip his ass the bird.

However, backing away from him, she decided that he'd probably had enough of her bravery for one day, and her survival instincts somehow managed to topple over the childish urge to kick, scream and throw a royal tantrum.

She shivered, rubbing her arms and raising her shoulders around her neck. Night time on Namek was freezing! She remembered though, that she had a pillow and blanket inside her container, as well as a lighter inside somewhere. They could build a fire, if they managed to get some wood…

"Ummm," She licked her lips again when his head snapped towards her. "If you could, uh, maybe…find some wood, then we could, maybe, make, uh…a fire?"

Vegeta cocked a brow at the suggestion. "And why would I need fire?"

She sighed. "Right. Sorry for asking."

If she were to give the real reason, simply being 'I'm cold', he would no doubt laugh and settle down to watch her suffer. It had been worth a try though.

The Saiyan Prince frowned as she walked away, retrieving her sleeping things from her container. She placed the blanket on it's side, and although the width was only long enough to cover until her knees, this way it allowed her to place half of the blanket beneath her, and half over. She curled her legs up, bringing them to her chest to prevent her feet from poking out.

The Prince watched as she shivered, finding himself feeling quite chilled. His breath formed mist in the air before him. Namek had some of the worst survivable extreme weather he had encountered. He wouldn't be surprised if the river was coated with a layer of ice the next morning.

Frowning once more at the girl, who had drifted off into some semblance of sleep, her teeth still chattering, he considered her words. While there were trees a little way off, near a village Frieza had destroyed, the Prince was loathe doing anything for her, nothing that would _comfort_ her at least.

She mumbled something, rolling over onto her back, her hand flinging out and removing the blanket from her body. The red tank top she wore did nothing to cover her, in fact, it had crept up so high that he was certain her could see the under-curve of her breast. Her nipples had hardened through the material…

The Prince wrenched his gaze away, furious at himself for dwelling on such irrelevant details. With a snarl he approached her and pulled the blanket back over her form as best he could. His teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed when she simply rolled over the opposite way, curling out of the blankets grasp altogether.

She was impossible, even in her sleep!

Why was he even bothering? She was nothing but a pointless waste of time! Occasionally amusing when he allowed her to be, and holding in her hands resources of indecipherable value, but still a waste of time. She had barely managed to escape being blasted, and now here she lay, quite content to sleep in the same cave as her worst nightmare. She seemed more worried about the cold then about him!

Well, she could freeze, the weak, pathetic, disrespectful trash of an Earthling female that she was!

However…he had learnt from first hand experience how fragile humans were. The punctures on her back, which had shown no sign of healing, but thankfully no sign of worsening either, was proof of her frailty. In these temperatures, she might just _literally_ roll over and die, if only to spite him for not killing her earlier. Perhaps he was underestimating her species, but if so, he had good cause. he had no idea whether or not her body would be able to withstand the sub-zero temperatures, and were she to die from anything other then him...

Well, that would be seriously off-pissing, even if the irony was somewhat amusing.

Yes, she might survive the weather with no trouble at all, but it was better to be safe then sorry. Not that he would be sorry at her death…

Shaking his head out of his confusing thoughts, the Prince one more covered her, knowing she would probably just roll out of it again when he was gone. Still, maybe she would stay put for a little while longer, for her own sake.

Stealing one last glance at the sleeping girl, who had on her face a gentle frown, somewhat ruining her peaceful countenance. Her hair fanned out behind her, across the yellow pillow, the tips of a few silky strands grazing the floor. Satisfied with her safety for the moment, Vegeta exited the cave, leaping into the air.

* * *

Bulma woke up to a strange crackling noise, and a harsh heat striking her back. Opening her eyes slowly, she met the cave wall, startlingly close to her face. Along the wall, to her surprise, she could see a glow of yellow light, moving in a strange dance over the grey stone, and long shadows cast by jutting rocks.

Lifting herself up on her elbow and twisting her back to stare sleepily behind her, Bulma was met by the sight of a cheerful -if somewhat alarmingly large- fire. Blinking in confusion, her gaze swung upward towards the illuminated form of Vegeta, leaning against her container on the opposite side of the flames, one leg up and with his arm resting over it while the other lay down, his boot dangerously close to a bright red log. He was positioned within the circle of light, and watching her silently. His eyes seemed to dance with the flames reflected in their black depths, and shadows played along his face, distorting his features and making his presence like that of a phantoms, imposing and dangerous. His tail lay on the ground beside him, almost as thought stretching forward, embracing the warmth and trapping it within its fur. It gave the occasional flicker, swaying restlessly above the ground.

Honestly, that tail behaved more like a cat's then a monkeys, thrashing when he was agitated, bristling when he was alarmed, swaying gently when he was contented...

She remained in her trance-like state of study, still in the uncomfortable twisted position, her eyes half closed and mouth slightly open, even when the prince moved forward, poking the fire with a long stick that rested beside him. He never removed his eyes from hers though, glancing through his lids, seeming to graze her very soul with those orbs of onyx. Only when he sat back did she realize that her elbow was hurting from supporting her weight, and her back was in pain from the skin stretching and scrunching due to her twisted position.

Laying down, Bulma rolled over so the she lay on her side, facing the fire. Stretching her arm up and bending it so that it lay beneath her head and bent back for her curled fingers rest before her face, she placed the pillow over it and put her head down.

"You made a fire," She managed to mumble, staring sleepily at Vegeta from around the fire.

"You gift for the obvious is astounding," The Prince replied dryly, narrowing his eyes at her.

Bulma yawned, only just managing to cover her mouth in time for it to still be kind of cute. "Jack-ass," She whispered to herself when the yawn had passed. She felt a shiver crawl down her spine when his eyes narrowed further, indicating that he had heard her.

Trying to ignore the glare, she arranged the blanket beneath her more comfortably, frowning at the way her hip jutted uncomfortably into the stone. Simply turning her waste so that her stomach lay flat, she easily twisted her chest to the side. She realized that she was warm actually, whereas she had felt like an icicle earlier. She looked to Vegeta once more, who was still watching her. She smiled weakly.

"Thank you."

He frowned, his eyebrows coming together in a way that made him seemed both angry, confused and stern at the same time. She could have giggled at the cuteness of that look.

"For _what_, girl?" He almost sounded exasperated...

Bulma rolled her eyes, gesturing vaguely towards the fire, "For this. I was freezing, and you made a fire, even though _you_ clearly didn't need one. So thank you."

Vegeta looked away almost stubbornly, like a petulant little boy she had met in a park two years ago, whom she had caught picking flowers. When she had questioned the boy on what girl they were for, he had emphatically expressed that he would _never_ give flowers to girls, 'cause girls were gross', as he had put it, despite the way his gaze had darted towards a pretty blonde child on the swing, and the way his cheeks had reddened.

Bulma smiled vaguely at the memory. The little boy had looked away from her with exactly the expression that was on the proud Saiyan's face: Stubborn denial.

Of course, along with the stubborn denial, there had been clear embarrassment on the little boys face, which was not present in the Princes.

"I had to, girl." He spoke through clenched teeth, his head still firmly turned away. "I couldn't have you dieing in your sleep after you put _so much_ effort into convincing me why I shouldn't kill you."

"Ugh," Bulma groaned, causing Vegeta's gaze to snap back toward her, " Seriously, what is _wrong_ with you? Is it _really_ that hard to accept a 'thank you'?" Her tone turned spiteful as her captors expression turned bitter, "Or have you just never _earned_ a 'thank you' before, so now you're confused about what to do with it? I guess that must be it, after all, you wouldn't get much thanks from the _dead_!"

"Silence!" Vegeta hissed, his poisonous expression immediately silencing the now fully awake Bulma. "I believe I warned you of the consequences you would face if you pushed me too far. I will _end_ you, pitiful Earthling, without mercy." Something dark flashed across his eyes, "In fact, you deserve to be punished for your insolence right now!"

The Saiyan was standing above her in less then a second, grabbing both her wrists and tugging her to her feet, pulling her close until they were face to face, his fury evident by his expression. Bulma's eyes widened, her lips parting in a squeak when Vegeta's hand began to squeeze bend her wrists outwards.

"Tell me, how easy do you think it would be for me to snap these?" He pushed her wrists to his face as a gesture, his tone of voice lowering dangerously, "Because I'm curious..."

Bulma squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the naked hatred that stared into her not centimeters away. She could still feel his cool breath on her forehead though, and the pressure on her wrists made her chest rise and fall rapidly, her heartbeat going so fast and so loud she thought she could hear it...

Tears poured through her closed lids and down her cheeks when Vegeta released one of her arms, the appendage falling limply to her side as he placed his other hand over her still-captured wrist. A whimper escaped her lips when the gloved hand slid down her arm, to hold it firmly between her wrist and elbow. She felt the Prince push her hand back, bending it till the point were it began to feel painful. She felt him tense, and knew that he was about to do it, about to break her wrist without mercy, as he had said...It would hurt. A lot.

She didn't want to...

"Please..." She whispered hoarsely, "Please, I cant stand the hurt anymore...Please."

She felt the Prince freeze then, the hand gripping her arm beginning to squeeze her until she was certain her would break through the skin. She couldn't see the expression on his face, to afraid to look, knowing that whatever look he held would probably let her know her fate. A few more tears slid down her cheeks, and she could swear she heard them splash against the floor.

"Please..." She said it like a prayer.

"You act so brave when you think you can get away with it, and it makes you feel stronger, doesn't it girl?" His, soft, whispering voice came suddenly from next to her ear. "But I know your game. Miserable cowards should know their place, lest they be revealed as the slime they really are."

A choked sob escaped her, past her restraints. She shuddered in his grip.

Suddenly, the Prince released her, flinging her away as though she were some sort of disgusting filth he was ashamed to be tainted with. She stumbled over her pillow, tripping. Will a yelp, her eyes flew open, and she saw Vegeta before her, a look of calm indifference on his face as she fell backwards, her arms rising above her as though to reach for a grip.

She saw then, a flicker of emotion pass over the Princes face. Surprise, or confusion, she couldn't tell.

But she realized, with the sort of slow, dragged out horror that someone _watching_ a speeding car approach, _knowing _it was going to hit them might feel. She felt the heat on her back, her body seemingly suspended in mid air for a moment, hair rising around her face as she spiraled downwards, back trying to arch away from the flames that sought to eat away at her flesh.

She was going to fall.

She was going to fall out of the frying pan.

And into the fire.

* * *

WOAW! What a cliffie ay? Okay, I just KNOW you wanna review and tell me what you think. Will Bulma fall into the fire, or will_ someone _*wink wink*catch her?

Ahhh, once again I apologize for the lateness of this chapter! I wanna wake up tomorrow morning with lots of reviews though! (No school on Monday! YAY!)

Enjoy the long weekend folks, and I hope this could make your day!

**P.S.** I was so excited to update this that I sorta rushed, so if you see any mistakes/typos and such, BE AT REST! Once I've calmed down I'll go back and fix em :D


	7. The Tantrum

OMG! My loyal readers, I am SO sorry for deserting you for so long! *cries in shame* I have no excuse… I just lost interest for a while… I am SO SORRY! Dx

Anyway, I am back with a short-ish chapter, just to try and ease myself back into things. I really am sorry for leaving you! Please don't punish me by not reviewing! Dx

I guess I did sort of warn you :/ not that that's an excuse, but do refer to point 6 in my authors note at the end of chapter one. I did mention my habit of going through intense writers block ^^

Anywho, I really hope this chapter can make up for some stuff. :P

Now, for my review replies (late as they are… you've probably forgotten what you said…)

Coka Cookie Cola – Well, lets see if you're right! ^^

**YukiraKing – **Oooh, great! I'm so sorry bout the wait! Hope this makes up for it!

**Ayaka86 – **Well, I hope this makes you day too love :)

**chomp172 – **It is indeed a miracle :P But she's tough that girl! Hehe, don't underestimate humans ^^

**botgal –** Lol…Okay, I'll wont tell a soul! I know what you mean about calling Krillin an idiot being force of habit xD hehe

**Gelly619 – **Well, here is some more! Sorry it's a bit late o.O

**Mystik Fire – **Oooh, sounds interesting! I'm a huge fan of House at the moment. Got all seven seasons taking up space on my PC… Heck yeah he's sexy! I hope this shows his…cute(?) side ^^

**crazykk2 – **Hehe…I feel bad for making you wait xD Well, just see if he catches her :P

**MeteorLeopard – **Allo HoneyB! I am back for the long weekend, our final two exams are on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm chilling now. :P Hope this can make your day!

**VladLover – **Awww, all cave man like! I can just picture him holding her by her ankle like in those newspaper comic strips! ^^ Vegeta would make one smexy Vamp!

**LoVeLiKeARaZoR** – yay! I hope this is good too :P

**The Crystal Rose – **Awww…man. Well, here's an update for you! I FEEL SP BAD ABOUT DESERTING MY FANS Dx hehe/ Well, hope to hear from you soon :)

**menga88 – **Yep. Vegeta is a big jerk ^.- But we let him get away with it coz he be smexy. Well… Vegeta would TOTALLY let her get burned dude. The question is…did he? MWUAHAHAHA! xD

**Jaylee-Rebel – **Gratz on becoming a coach girl! Yeah…I'm bad. Nyehehe. Anywho, hopefully this satisfies your withdrawal symptoms. Enjoy! ^^

**Ebon Wolf 2008 – **Awww…can I have THREE thumbs up? :P Lol. Enjoy Wolf!

**Woofimakitty – **I hope you find this just as epic! Enjoy Woofkitteh! xD

**Black Diamond07 – **Oh yeah, he'll regret it all right xD But as of right now, he's just having fun ^^ poor Bulma…

**Onba **–Yay! Hope not seeing it for so long doesn't make you…uninterested :/

**KayuraK – **Oooh yes they are! I luffs my Stockholm Syndrome fics! Although…they can still be SS fics without such hectic violence :P But I guess I got a little carried away xD

** IfLooksCouldKill – **Uh Oh. Don't kill me man xD Sorry! I hope this isn't a bad cliffhanger… In fact, it isn't really a cliffhanger at all But anyway! Enjoy! ^^

**Thesuckiestwriterofforever – **Oh, I'm sure you're not a sucky writer! Enjoy finding out exactly what he did :)

**Josie – **I know what you mean! I hate reading fics where characters get into arguments, but their dialect is just so stupid. I like to have people say things that seem realistic and that make sense :P Hope I succeeded with this!

**queenyasha – **Love you too! I swear, deserting you was an accdident! D,: I really hope you like this one hun!

**Vallata – **Damn straight its addicting! Have another hit :P

**Flame3723 – **Ehehehe…I hope it didn't kill you and that it WAS worth the wait! :D

**tinawinna – **DUDE! You have reviewed ALL my chapters! *hugs*Thank you thank you thank you! I hope you love this! Your reviews all made me smile! Oh, and sorry about that link, I think I fixed it :)

**Hmrtaylor – **Hehe…Not soon, but it's here! Enjoy!

**Ansam – **Here is more *hands over more*** **xD

**The Snookie Wha – **Oooh, cool name! Sorry bout the cliffhanger! Hope this makes up for it :D

Okay! So, now that I've addressed you all, on with the –long awaited for- chapter! ^^

**The Tantrum:**

Vegeta watched, confused and shocked, as the girl seemed to fall in slow motion, her body reflexively arching away from the flames. He hadn't meant to push her so hard, or even in that direction. He had been following nothing but the instinct to hurt at the time. He had felt the need to cause her pain, to make her understand exactly what it was that had made him. She so scorned him, but she understood nothing of true suffering. He would be her teacher in that then, and a harsh lesson it would be!

She judged him because he was a murderer, because he reveled in death and would roll in blood like a pig would in mud. But she could never know how it had come to be. She would never know, unless he showed her. Her innocence would be corrupted by pain and death. She pleaded the charming little girl, but if he tried he could make her like him in a matter of days. By the time he was done, she would be as cruel and callous as this goddamned planet!

He had held her fragile wrists in his hands, marveling at the brittleness in her small bones. His pinky and thumb could envelope those wrists, so small they were in comparison to his. And they were surprisingly flexible, bending further then he would have thought.

He had seen the fear on her face, the terror of the pain he was about to bring her. Her bones would snap, clean in two, and she would in all likelihood be broken forever.

He had studied her in a pause, taking in the dusty, tangled mess of her hair, and the long, wet lashes that fell over her cheeks while her eyes remained closed. Her breasts, he had not failed to notice, jostled with every erratic breath she took, rising and falling in an almost hypnotizing rhythm. The bruise on her neck that had only darkened, and was now beginning to turn a deeper purple. There were also the long marks of his fingers stretching across her face.

Had he truly been able to hurt her so much, without trying? He hadn't even noticed…

Tears had slipped down her bruised cheeks, sliding over the glossy skin of her burn, a relic of their very first encounter. She had been in the bald man's arms when he had given her that burn.

For some reason, that had angered him.

At the thought of her in another's arms, as another's possession, the Prince had felt a painful tug in his chest. This girl, this _woman_, was his. He had not owned anything since the day he was born; he had not even owned his own body. All had belonged to Frieza. His family, his planet, his life…

She was his first ever possession, the first thing he had ever truly owned, completely and undeniably _his._

And that had just made him want to punish her even more. Like a child that simply could not understand his toy, he wanted to bash it against the wall until it did something that made sense, or even if it didn't, something amusing.

He had gotten ready to break her, mentally, physically. She was his, wasn't she? He could do with her what he wanted. And she was becoming dysfunctional. All he had ever known was if something was broken, break it further. It was what Frieza had done with him his whole life. And what a perfect little minion he had become…too afraid to act out until something so ludicrous as immortality came to him with the promise to save his cause.

Yes, Frieza had proven that his methods were effective, and it was how he would control her.

He had prepared himself, readying to apply the small pressure that it would need to break her tiny wrist like a twig. She had sobbed still, and the entire time he had watched her agonized face. The slightest twitch or quiver had made something deep within him stir, and for a long, drawn out moment he was frozen, simply watching her, completely at his mercy.

But then she had pleaded with him, her voice cracking with choked sobs. Her voice hoarse from pain, or fear, or maybe just the bruise on her throat. Her mouth had quivered, struggling to get the words out.

_"Please..." the girl whispered, tears spilling from her closed eyes, "Please, I cant stand the hurt anymore...Please."_

That had caused him to freeze, his eyes widening as he halted all movements. All had been silent, his breath coming almost as fast as hers as his heart raced, both predatory instincts and ambition coming to clash together in the jumble of his mind.

He had remembered then the words that had prompted him to save her from Dodoria. The four words that had haunted him when he had watched her sleep.

_Girl. Dragonballs. Wish. Immortality._

_She seemed peaceful enough, now that the fire was built. He had simply lit the pile of branches with a small burst of Ki. Surprisingly, the light explosion had not roused her one bit. For lack of anything better to do, he fished in the container behind him and brought forth another of the huge packages that contained the **divine** dried meats that she had with her._

_But even as he ate from her fair, leaning against the container, he had to once again evaluate her worth. She was small, completely helpless in the wild. The creatures on this planet, such as the Dinosaurs he had found randomly roaming about, would grind her to dust. She was the first and only being whose value he could not measure with strength, and it was a confusing thing to come to terms with._

_He briefly wondered how old she was…She looked about the age of sixteen, although she could have been older for all he knew. She was still a child by Saiyan standards, as they only came to adulthood at the age of thirty. Saiyan's had been known to live for over five-hundred years, and his own father had been nearing his six-hundredth. The King had still maintained his youthful appearance however, as had his two-hundred and thirty year old mother._

_Vegeta knew he looked no older then 25, though he was reaching his 38th birthday. He would maintain the appearance of a man in his early twenties until the day he died…_

_So, for all he knew, the girl could have been older then him. He doubted it though, as he had seen far to many elderly in the city Nappa had destroyed for the idea of Earthlings having an extended life span to be a logical conclusion. Also, the girl's naivety, child-like reactions to fear and downright brattiness led him to believe that she was as young as he guessed._

_She groaned in her sleep, her REM quickening until she rolled over, her back facing him while she curled into a ball. His dark orbs traced over the punctures on her back, frowning at the ugliness. They were not deep enough, he estimated, to cause long-term scars, but the evidence of her backs messy encounter with the jagged rocks would plague for some years._

_He could still, however, pick out patches of the smooth, ivory coloured skin between the injuries. And the backs of her milky thighs were completely untouched, as revealed by her tiny shorts. He briefly wondered how it would be to trace his fingers over that skin, wanting to know how she felt where she wasn't hurt or damaged, or broken in any way. Would those legs be as smooth and soft, yet firm as they appeared?_

_Would the skin burn and sizzle, break and bruise, shrivel and die under his touch, as everything else did?_

_She stirred, moaning slightly._

_Was she having nightmares, he wondered? Were they of him? Did he haunt her in her sleep, causing her pain and completely nullifying her only refuge, the quite oblivion of rest?_

_Did she dream of the way he had abused her? Or was the anxiety and seriousness of her position carrying over to her subconscious?_

_Suddenly, he knew she was awake. The sudden stiffness of her form, and the slight intake of breath were instant indicators. She stayed still for a while, before lifting herself onto her elbow and twisting her head back to stare at him._

_She seemed to be studying him, and he followed her lead, observing the slight film that seemed to cover her eyes. She seemed sluggish, having just come out of her sleep, and her expression was…strange. It seemed almost trusting, as though her senses had been dulled in contrast to the shrewdness she usually showed._

_He almost enjoyed that trusting look of hers, somehow feeling a sense of accomplishment in knowing that, despite all of his abuse of her, she still allowed herself to lower her guard around him. He had her completely and entirely in his nets…_

_Girl. Dragonballs. Wish. Immortality._

He had promised himself that he wouldn't harm her, that he wouldn't destroy that trusting look. He was making some sort of progress with her, even if it was not what he had expected. It was far more effective to have her cooperate because of fear then trust…but it was so much more pleasant the other way around. And while he could enjoy it, making someone cower in fear every once in a while, somehow that just didn't suite her.

But once she had opened her mouth, spilling forth words of hatred…He had snapped, and despite his promise to do nothing of the sort, he had reduced her to a blubbering baby.

And now she was falling away from him, towards more pain then he had planned for her that night. And he found that he was frozen, watching in morbid fascination as she descended upon the glowing logs.

Then…

Girl…Dragonballs…Wish…Immortality…

Girl.

Girl.

Girl…

Vegeta's eyes widened as Bulma fell towards the flames.

With single-minded determination, the Saiyan Prince leaned forward and grabbed onto her shoulders, pulling her to him. Her back grazed against a flaming coal, and she gasped with the pain, even as Vegeta stepped back, pulling her with him. Her body felt like jelly, her limbs gone completely limp, and she crashed against his chest.

The only thing that kept her from sliding down to the floor was his firm grip on her shoulders. Her cheek pressed against his breastplate, and her eyes stared wide and completely blank out at the starry sky outside. She was barely aware of Vegeta lowering her to the floor, and though he handled her roughly, she vaguely realized that he was trying not to hurt her.

He spun her around and placed her back against the cave wall before he lowered himself to his haunches, staring seriously into her eyes.

'Girl?' He prodded with a frown, poking her in the chest. She barely managed to raise her gaze to him.

'Bulma…' She whispered.

Vegeta blinked. 'What?'

Bulma shook her head, pulling herself to sit up straighter. 'My name…' She had to gasp for breath, finding that her chest was restricting painfully, 'My name is…Bulma.'

The Prince's brow furrowed as he rested his elbows on his legs. 'I am aware of that.'

She nodded, tired. 'Good. Then use it…'

Vegeta scowled raising to his feet and looming over her, 'You are in no position to be giving me orders, silly little girl!' He growled, tail thrashing angrily behind his knee. 'You really have no idea when to shut up, do you?'

Bulma chuckled weakly, adrenaline fogging her mind and slowing her thought process so that she responded with a sluggish smile, and an inappropriately chipper 'Nope.' Before she blinked several times, her head lolling back into the wall as her neck lost the energy to support it. Her lips separated, breathily forming a surprised, 'Oh.' As her eyes fluttered shut. Slowly, she lost feeling in the tips of her fingers and her mind went strangely blank.

The adrenaline left her body, torturously slowing down her heart rate and causing her to feel light headed. The strain of almost three days worth of fear and abuse, coupled with an extremely taxing near-third degree burns experience left her body and mind completely taxed of energy. A warm fog enveloped her and she embraced it, ignoring the distant sound of Vegeta's voice, calling to her.

'Sleepy…' She whispered to herself before embracing the warmth of oblivion.

* * *

Vegeta continued to jostle the girl, even after her barely audible whisper of something about sleep. Like hell she was going to sleep! He wasn't done with her and he'd be damned if he just let her_ ignore_ him by snoozing off.

'Oi!' He said with irritation, shaking her shoulder. He achieved nothing but dislodging her from her sitting position, so she slid sideways down the wall. He hastened to steady her, shaking her instead directly against the wall so her head rolled forward onto her chest. 'Girl!' He tried again, repeatedly tapping the side of her cheek in anger, 'Wake up! I'm not finished with you!'

When he received no reply, he scowled, 'Girl! Bulma! Whatever the hell your name is, get the hell up!'

Silence.

Vegeta lip curled, clenching and grinding his teeth and revealing his sharp, pointed canines. He scowled and got to his feet, fists clenched at his side while she slid sideways down the wall until she lay resting at his feet. He felt the urge to throw a royal tantrum, wanting to scream and rant at her for cheating in their game of cat and mouse. The mouse wasn't_ supposed_ to take a nap when it was cornered by the cat! It was supposed to quiver in fear, maybe even pee its pants while the cat in question licked its teeth chuckled evilly.

The Prince stood still, indulging in silent rage for a few moments before opening his mouth and bellowing to the roof, his boots stomping on the cave floor along with him and causing the entire structure to quake, the stalactites on the roof shivering dangerously, 'WAKE,' stomp, '_THE HELL UP_,' stomp, 'YOU _STUPID_ WOMAN!' and one last stomp.

He stood panting for a second, eyes trained on the rood of the cave while his chest rose and fell. Slowly, he lowered his gaze to Bulma, who was still –to his complete disgust- breathing quietly on the floor.

Vegeta let out an enrage yell of frustration and stamped his foot on the floor again, like a tantruming child who had just realized that his toy was broken. And, like a tantruming child, he wanted to grab the toy in question and bang it against the floor to punish it for being so useless and refusing to indulge in his childish needs.

'Stupid,' He growled, grabbing her by the elbow and dragging her limp body across the floor towards the fire, '_Worthless,_' he added, dumping her on her blanket, her head just missing her pillow and hitting the cave floor with a thunk, 'Miserable, useless excuse for a female creature!' he finished, yanking her covers over her with a satisfying amount of aggression.

He rose to his full height and glared daggers down at her while she smacked her lips quietly and absently shifted her head onto the soft cushioning of her pillow. Vegeta glowered down at her even as he circled the fire and resumed his place leaning against the capsule-container. He sat down heavily and scowled sourly as she turned over in her sleep/unconscious state, and bared her back to the cave wall, her relaxed countenance facing him. Vegeta crossed his arm and petulantly avoided looking at her instead pointedly gazing at the still night sky outside.

'Humph'

* * *

'It,' Krillin chattered fervently, 'Is freezing cold!'

The pair flew low over the land, having discovered the ridiculous cold was even more ridiculous higher up. The monk shivered incessantly and rubbed his bare arms as they flew, occasionally charging up his energy to try and warm himself up. Gohan flew next to him, seemingly oblivious to the temperature.

'Seriously man, you have got to be feeling this!' Krillin exclaimed unhappily. Gohan spared him a short glance, the brooding expression that had been on the child's face for the entire duration of their flight now turning onto his friend with full, frightening force. Krillin almost flinched.

'When I was training with Mr Piccolo, it was always really cold. After a while though, I got used to it. Besides,' He said darkly, 'I'm more worried about getting to Guru's place and powering up to save Bulma then the weather. We're lost, aren't we?'

Krillin swallowed and rubbed his forehead wearily. 'I dunno, Gohan. I can hardly see anything without the daylight. It feels like we've been flying for way to long.'

Gohan sighed resignedly, 'You think we've passed it?'

Krillin closed his eyes and tightened his hands grip on his shoulders, his short nails digging into the skin, 'I…I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe we missed it completely and we've been going in the wrong direction for a while now.'

Gohan was silent for a while as the monk continued to stare hopelessly at the ground.

'Or maybe,' The small Saiyan said quietly, causing Krillin to glance up at him sadly, surprised when he saw the strain on the half-breeds neutral expression, 'Maybe we were going in the wrong direction,' Gohan's lips quirked up into a joy-filled smile, 'But we got back on track again! Look!'

Krillin swung his head around to gaze in wonder and joy at where Gohan was pointing, the approaching shape of Guru's insect-like hut.

'We made it! That's Guru's place!' Krillin exclaimed excitedly. They simultaneously increased their speed, racing towards the hut.

Gohan smiled. They had made it, and now he would gain the power he needed to fight Vegeta, and that Frieza guy.

_'Just a little longer Bulma._

* * *

**Determined little tyke, isn't he?**

**Well, There you have it folks. My long awaited for chapter 7! I hope you all enjoyed it, especially vegeta's little tantrum. It was inspired by that one line 'People of the earth...RAISE YOUR HANDS UP RIGHT NOW, OR YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIEEEE!'**

**xD**

**So yeah, that's what I was picturing when I wrote that. Vegeta really does throw temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way, but then he goes and covers her with her blankets! Awwww! ^^**

**I hope the fall into the fire wasn't anticlimactic in any way o.O **

**So, I know I've been gone a while, and I really do deserve cold hard silence... BUT PLEASE REVIEW! xD**

**Luffs you all!**


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